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

The core of my belief system is 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 homeschools 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 stewardships. 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...