Recently a few of us gathered together to make special t-shirts to wear in our local Tax Day Tea Party civil tax protest.

We made these fun fingerprint flags:

with a few stars up in the corner.

Then we left our shirts out in the rain, and had to toss them. Then it rained all Tea Party day. So we almost had t-shirts for the Tea Party we almost attended.

Mr. Obama, I didn’t vote for you. I still wouldn’t. In fact, I vehemently disagree with you on some very serious matters. But I will pray for you, and for your family. You have no small task ahead of you. I pray you are able to find your way to the True Savior every single day you are in office, leading our nation and families. I pray for your children to know their daddy, and your wife to find her place. I pray your decisions be seasoned with wisdom that comes only from the Lord. I will pray for you daily, Mr. Obama, to my Savior, the deliverer of all people.

What do you do when your candidate loses?

You get out of bed and get on with life.

You explain to your children that God is still on His throne, and that we do not put our Trust in men. You remind them that even if our candidate had won, we still would not put our Trust in men.

You down on your knees for your country.

You go to bed and do it all again the next day.

Hmm…not too far from what you did before your candidate lost.

After we left the polling place today (where they had run out of “I Voted” stickers, doggone it!), we stopped to pose for a photo with signs of our candidate of choice.

You noticed there are only three children in the photo? That’s because three year old Breanna bopped her older brother in the head with her McCain-Palin sign and ran.

Seems after Ariel (of the mermaid sort), ROCK-uh-BON-na is her first choice for President. She’s convinced he wants to visit our house to give us money. And attend her birthday party. With Ariel.

{grin}

Freedom is for all.

A “swing voter” was on his way to the polls when he was mugged and left wounded in an alley.

A “liberal” man happened by on his way to a rally for the ”right” presidential candidate. He did not have time to stop, but he worked the emotional story into his speech a few minutes later.

A “conservative” man happened by on his way to vote for the ”right” candidate. He was in a rush to cast his ballot and then return to the office to work, something this vagrant should consider doing, he thought to himself.

An “independent” man heard groans and rushed to the wounded man’s side. He called an ambulance and stayed with the victim until family could make it to the hospital. By that time, the polls were closed.

Did the independent “waste” his vote?

(Good Samaritan)

That was the title of our sermon today. Now, our church never addresses politics. They don’t carry those voting guides, they don’t mention politics from the pulpit. Ever. So I was really, really curious.

The mantra at our church has always been: In the essentials, unity. In the non-essentials, liberty. In everything, love. (It’s a thought put into words by a 17th c. Lutheran. I can’t remember his name, sorry.)

Pastor Ben said we hold two boxes in our hands–one for the essentials; one for the non-essentials. And the only thing in the essentials box is: Jesus died on the cross to forgive us our sins and give us eternal life with God. Period. Nothing else. Absolutely every other thing, no matter how big, goes into the other box. Everything. Period.

He asked us to shout out our biggest concern in the election, and there was a cacophony of noise: abortion, economics, marriage, etc. Then he asked us to shout out the name at whom every knee will bow, even Barack Obama and John McCain. We confessed a crystal clear: Jesus.

Ben said, “The question isn’t ‘Who’s Right?’ but ‘What box does this issue go in?’” Ouch! Really, what box have you put your concerns in? What have you added to the essentials box that doesn’t belong there?

If you’d like to hear Ben’s message you can listen online or download the mp3 file here. It’s worth the time.

If you’d like to read more truth about God and politics, visit Heather.

On Tuesday, vote with your heart, your head and your hands in full submission only to the Lord.

It’s like this:

Brooke and Brad make a wager–whoever rakes the most leaves wins a trip to the movies. They agree to rake our yard and the neighbors’ yards; but Brad slips off to the huge post office grounds and nabs all those leaves, too, and inevitably wins.

Brooke cries injustice. Of course I’d step in and make things right, she pleads. Only, I tell her I’m not the one to make the call–all the neighborhood children will. Half the kids back Brad because he’s a cool kid; he bribes the other half with the promise of candy from the theater.

That’s how I explained the feel-good Obamercial. Come one, the only way Barack Obama could afford last night’s television spot is because he went back on his word to not accept private funding.

And another story…

Brooke gets up early and works ten hard hours to earn $100 to spend in New York this December. Brad sleeps in and puts in only and hour, earning a measley $10. I decide it’s not fair that Brooke has so much more to spend, so I make her share her $100 with no recompense from Brad.

A little voice from the crib:

ROCK-uh-BON-nah took Brookie’s money!

Holy cow, the kid gets it! I never even mentioned Barack Obama’s name in that second story. Even a two year old can see what’s happening.

Vote on November 4. Vote wisely.

Our library constructed a display for the election, complete with photographs with the Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees from the two major political parties. My children were excited to let everyone know they knew the candidates’ names. My two year old even screamed them out:

ROCK-uh-BON-nah

and JOHN-na CANE!

I heard little giggles from all over the library.

Tonight the children held their own debate. Brad was the moderator, asking Brooke a.k.a. Sarah Palin (“just Sarah” because governor is a tricky word for a six year old to pronounce) if she wants the buildings low, medium or high. Brian was the self-proclaimed judge, whacking his tinker toy and calling sternly for “Order in the courtroom.” What a HOOT!

I have it on good authority that “Just Sarah” likes medium-sized buildings. TeeHee.

My kids recently discovered my stash of tracing paper from my first year of college. This paper survived six moves, 17 years, and our recent flood–even though it was directly under the torrent of water. It was destined to be discovered by my children as the hidden treasure it is.

Check out the title of the book Brad’s using.

Bill Clinton was President when I bought the paper. George W. Bush is President now. Tonight we’ll watch the Obama-McCain Presidential Candidate Debates. I wonder who will be President when the paper is re-discovered, maybe decades from now. That is, if it’s not all used up tonight.

I am lifting this entire post from my friend Heather’s blog. It is well worth the three minutes it takes to read it. If you are encouraged by the article, leave Heather a note so she can pass it along to Mr. VanBemmel. While you’re there check out her amazing photography for a real treat.

QUOTE

This afternoon, after we got home from school, I was reading through the weekly newsletter that our Headmaster, Jason VanBemmel, sends out. There is a section in there titled “Speaking From My Heart”. I thought this was so well said, that I just wanted to share it here.

The Loss of Respect and Consideration

So the House of Representatives failed to pass a tough piece of legislation to rescue banks and investment companies from bankruptcy over our bad debt. Without getting into the pros and cons of the political debate, I want to comment on the nature of the discussion surrounding this process.

 What I noticed in all of this activity was something very indicative of the sad state of affairs in our country. The media referred to President Bush as “the lamest of lame ducks” and said “It would almost be better if he weren’t there.” I heard other commentators say, “No one takes him seriously when he speaks anymore.” Now whether you agree or disagree with the President’s proposal, one thing should be clear: When the President of the United States speaks and offers a solution to such a huge economic crisis, he should be taken seriously. To have a sitting president who is so disregarded and disrespected is as serious a crisis for our nation as the economic crisis.

The media have fueled this disrespect toward the President. They have relentlessly criticized and undermined the President for almost eight years, dropping the respect and decorum typically offered to the office of the presidency. News anchors and reporters have repeatedly referred to him as simply “Bush” or “George Bush,” and not “the President” or even “President Bush.” This is an unprecedented level of casual disregard for the leader of the free world and for the office he holds.

And so is it any wonder that politics has become so divisive and so poisonous? In this as in other areas, politics is merely a reflection of the health of our society, a barometer of the condition of our cultural soul. We have created for ourselves a disrespectful and inconsiderate culture. We are so casual and so flippant in our conversation and our conduct, that only one word adequately describes us: rude!

Rudeness comes from casual disrespect, which comes from a callous selfishness. It is an attitude that disregards the honor due to others and cares only about itself. Our society is infected with disrespect and rudeness at all levels, and it is getting worse, accelerated by the Internet and our 24-hour-a-day news channels with the talking heads who must out-do one another in rudeness to get ratings. Whether its Chris Matthews or Keith Olbermann on the left or Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly on the right, these guys are rude, selfish, disrespectful and arrogant.

But if you read the comments people post connected to any issue online, you will see why these men are so rude. If you’ve seen the way children speak to their parents in the grocery store or the mall, you’ll see it even more clearly. If you watch Spongebob Squarepants or the other popular media our children’s brains are fed regularly, you’ll see the same reality. Our culture is rude. To be successful in a rude culture, you must be ruder and more disrespectful than the next guy.

People say they want more positive politics, but political reality simply mirrors cultural norms. We will not have more respectful politics until we have a more respectful culture. We will not have a more respectful culture until we have more respectful homes, families, schools and churches. So, what about your home? How do you speak about others, especially those in authority, in front of your children? Are you cultivating an attitude of disrespect? How do you allow your children to speak to you or to others? Do you model, teach, correct and train your children to be polite and respectful? What do you allow your children to watch and imitate? There’s no other path to a respectful society, but for us to start forging it, one home at a time.

 END QUOTE