When Conviction Wins

Four years ago someone wrote these words (part of a larger article entitled Christians Should Not Choose Evil), which mirror my conviction with this presidential election. 

As much as I enjoy politics, I have remained somewhat quiet during this election because I have come up against great resilience from my Christian brothers and sisters when they find out I am probably going to abstain from voting for President this election.  I've been the recipient of everything from the wide-eyed stare to a verbal lashing.  I believe everyone should vote their conscience, but I have been baffled by the 'hip, hip hoorays' for Romney from friends and family with whom I usually share a like-mindedness.  Many a day I have wondered what it is I am missing that others are seeing.  Nevertheless, I can't bring myself to join the parade even when enticed by streamers and confetti.  I just don't find him party-worthy (in more ways than one).

I love the political process.  During the primary this year I wore my "I voted today" sticker with pride, as I always do.  If I don't vote it will be the first time that I haven't voted for President since I was able to do so.  It will be a very sad election for me, but at the end of the day I need to lie my head on the pillow that is on my own bed and stand by the conviction of my Spirit.

With that said - here is an excerpt of the words of  J. Robert Lancaster (underlining mine) - and some food for thought:

"I am not convinced that Christians need to vote for the lesser of two evils. First, because that is not the way we make most other significant decisions. When seeking to find a godly spouse we rarely fall back on this kind of logic. When faced with such an unpleasant choice we would likely keep looking, even if it meant staying unmarried. Every man does eventually marry a “fallen” (in sin) woman though I doubt she would appreciate being told that he married her because she was not as evil as the other girl he had been considering.

The second reason Christians need not vote for the lesser of two evils is because Christians, despite the common belief, have no obligation to vote. In fact, it is the false belief that this obligation exists which often seems to force such a “lesser of two evil” choice. This is not to say that Christians should not or cannot vote, but abstaining from an election cycle does not make one a bad Christian.

Christians are members of two kingdoms and our ultimate allegiance is to the kingdom of God. We live and participate in the kingdom of this world but this is not where our hope and salvation lie. Yet a vote in this presidential election, for either of the major candidates at least, is being billed as a statement about who you are going to place your hope in. When an election is being cast in this particular light, why do Christians feel the need to vote for the lesser of two evils? Shouldn’t we at least consider not voting at all?

...Yet nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to vote nor are we called to choose between two evils when choosing neither is a possible action. Any vote in this election seems to be a vote that will conflict with Christian principles. For that reason I have decided not to vote in this Presidential election. A vote for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil."

(Thanks for listening.  It was either this or writing about my nightmare last night which involved death and paint choices.  eek!)

Names You Won't See on a Coffee Cup

I was at the Gerber site looking at pictures that have been entered in the 2012 baby contest.  After just a few minutes I became so distracted by the names I was reading that I stopped looking at the pictures and became fixated on the craziness.   Because of the work I do, I am around babies all the time.  I've heard some doozies, but I was still shocked at the extent parents will go to be unique, essentially shackling their child for life to a name that people will:

a) laugh at

b) mispronounce

c) misspell

d) all of the above

So here, for your pleasure, is a mere pittance, a sampling of a few of the craziest names and spellings.

Girls 

1.  Kynadie (They are probably going for Kennedy, but this little one will go through life with people     saying things like KyNayDee...which isn't bad if her middle name is AN and she is from Canada)

2.  Rayghan (Was there something wrong with all the other weird variations of Reagan?)

3.  Tuesday (Even though I love Keith Urban, I blame him and Nicole for starting this trend of naming girls one of the days of the week.  All I can say is that it is better than Saturday)

4.  Ove'a (Since the definition of Ove is 'a deep feeling of sexual attraction and desire' there isn't     much to say about this choice except 'ewww')

5.  Dezeray (The spelling...so unique! so unusual! so unnecessary!)

6.  Safia (She can expect the following exchange for life.  What's your name?  [Safia.]  Sofia?  [No,    Safia!]

7.  Canon (Boom!)

8.  Heaven (These parents must not have heard of the trending Nevaeh)

9.  Haylin  (This might have been a hospital typo for Kaylin - I'm hoping)

10. Keilyani (Again, why choose a name that the child will need to spell EVERY SINGLE TIME?)

11. Journey (Yeah, life is going to be a journey with a name like this)

12. Tomorrow-Lynn (...and I'm not joking.  Maybe she can be best buddies with Tuesday, or get a     free pass at the Disney Tomorrowland rides).

Boys - Overall the boys names that I saw were more normal than girls, but not all as witnessed here...

1.  Lenin (Even spelled like Vladimir's name.  His brother will probably be named Marx)

2.  Jaizyk (Huh?)

3.  Damien (Has this person never heard of The Omen?  Gee, why not just saddle him with Adolph?)

4.  Manasas (Sorry, but this sounds like a city.  Oh, and Molasses, too.

5.  Leonidas (I would have advised skipping the 'idas' and sticking with Leon, but they didn't ask me)

6.  Maxson (Ohhhhh, people there are all kinds of names with X's out there:  Jaxxon, Paxton, Flax -     just kidding about Flax, but it wouldn't surprise me)

7.  Rammy (Brother of Tammy, Sammy, and Pammy)

8.  Cash (I guess it's better than naming your son Credit)

9.  Sturges (A quick google search told me there are a lot of fish markets in Sturges, MI)

10. Asharious (That's hilarious!)

11. Bowevori (Really?  Did they put Scrabble letters in a bag, draw them, and rearrange?)

12. Taytum (Sorry, but this spelling looks feminine.  This poor kid better develop a thick skin) 

...well, that was amusing.  

Yours Truly,

Elehcim

God - 1, Chance - 0

This is a post about God's latest miracle in my life.  It may not resonate for those who believe life is governed by chance, luck, karma, horoscopes or crystals.  But it will for those who know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that there is a God who cares about us in an intimate, personal way.  This is a post that celebrates the God of the universe - the one and only God.  

For too long I have had two cars sitting in the driveway needing to have something, anything done with them.  Neither worked and both required more to fix than we were willing to spend.  So both just sat...and sat.  They were an eyesore to be sure, but I just never addressed the problem because they sat amidst a long list of problems that needed to be dealt with.

This past Saturday morning, John and I were sitting in the house when there was a knock on the door.  Being the bra-less, pajama-clad mess that I was, I told him I wasn't going to answer the door.  Well, he did, and the woman at the door asked him if there was any chance we were selling our car.  I came out to meet the woman and her brother and he said something to the effect of, "Oh my gosh...if this is true it is a miracle."  I had no idea what he was referring to until I got the full scoop:

He has just moved here from Las Vegas.  He is in the middle of a divorce, having a wife who cheated on him and then proceeded to get most everything in the divorce.  The night before, and then Saturday morning, he prayed and asked the Lord to lead him to the car he was supposed to buy. Saturday morning he was driving somewhere around our neighborhood to look at another car.  At some point he turned onto our street and passed our house.  Suddenly, his sister said, "Stop the truck and back up."  She pointed to the car in our driveway and told him they should stop and ask if it was for sale.  He said he didn't want to do that because it was crazy to knock on someone's door and ask that, but she persisted saying, "All they can do is say 'no'."

So she knocked, and asked, and well...we said 'yes'.

Today I met him, his sister and his mom at the DMV and transferred the title.  (Have you ever been to the DMV?  The place where you typically wait and wait and wait with all the other sad sacks for your number to be called?  Well today, Monday afternoon, the number we got was the next one to be called.  Imagine that).  I basically gave the car away, but it isn't about the money, it is about the handiwork of God. The incredible, personal, beautifully orchestrated handiwork of God.

We had many years with Dennis, our 1996 green Infinity.  I drove him until he was on life support and then the kids drove him to death. He was with us for 14 years, through grade school drop offs and pick ups, permits and licenses.  Anyone who knows me well will know full well that I was kinda sad to see him go despite the mess he was in.  Today, the new owner said that at some point in the future he will bring him by and show me what he did to fix him up.  He doesn't know yet that I likely won't be here, but it does make me happy to know that in the end Dennis didn't end up in a junkyard, but in a backyard, and that someone is going to put his pieces back together.  (To all who are wondering...yes, I do know Dennis isn't real).

...and that, my friends, is the God I know and love.  The one who takes care of my needs, even when I don't ask, by moving someone else who loves Him to knock on my door.