Any time I start thinking about my future, I stress out.  I try to figure it out…map out it’s course.  Struggle over priorities.  In essence, I’m plotting out some control over my tomorrows.  My desire for control and plans destroys me.  It focuses everything on myself.  I am no more selfish than when I start thinking about my future.  I am never more satisfied and content than when I am serving something bigger than myself.  If you know me, you know I am a champion of many causes.  It is working for those causes that I feel most alive.

Too often, I make huge declarations of my future plans.  Too often, I change my future plans.  See how that could get embarrassing after a while?  It’s like the boy who cried wolf too many times… after a while, nobody takes you serious.  I feel that way, embarrassed because I don’t have it figured out.  Because once upon a time, I either had it figured out or convinced everyone I did.  And so since then I’ve carried the burden of expectation with me whether it was true or not.  I guess one of the problems with having parents that were supportive and encouraging is that it sometimes translates into expectation.  And since my “future declarations” have not come to any sort of fruition, those expectations can turn to disappointment.  Remember those six words I had… I only believe them sometimes.  

And so, I’m reminded of something I learned but haven’t yet fully acquired… 

I see life as a journey. Where I am is not where I was and there’s no telling where I’m going to be. My heart is for God and my life is spent in His pursuit. I don’t know what I’m going to do but I do know who I want to be…a recycler, an academic, compassionate, a lover of truth, a defender of the oppressed, and a good husband/father.

Maybe I’m a teacher, maybe a business man, maybe a pastor, maybe a web designer, maybe an artist, maybe the next big thing, maybe a farmer, maybe a house flipper.  Maybe, just maybe…

How do you imagine your class status?  Elite?  Upper-class?  Upper-middle-class?  Lower-middle-class?  Working-middle-class?  Working-poor?  Lower-class?  Poor?  

Chances are, if you’re like most Americans, you think of yourself as being some sort of middle-class person…even if your income is closer to being upper-class or even lower-class.  It’s just crazy how we all like to think of ourselves as good hard working middle class citizens.  That’s how I thought of myself..well maybe not hard working…but certainly working middle class.  

Turns out I was wrong.  I’m poor.  You wouldn’t guessed that from the house I live in or fact I have a computer and even a website, or even from the fact I have a car(well two cars actually).  But despite my middle-class disguise, I’m poor and I’m feeling more and more that way than ever before… 

And I don’t feel all that blessed.  I feel stressed out.  Like completely stressed to the max.  I feel like I’m in hole trying to climb out, all the while more dirt being dumped on me.  It’s not just the financial aspects, it’s just about everything I feel this way about.  I feel like all my different priorities and responsibilities are conspiring against me.  

The American dream is if you work hard enough you can achieve whatever you want.  People talk about mobility through the classes, but the poor have always seen past that line.  If you’re poor, the system works against you.  When you live pay check to pay check, everything hits you harder- debt snow balls into a situation you cannot climb out of.  But we still keep up the illusion that what is good for corporations is good for Americans.  That as the rich make more money it will trickle down and improve everyones lives.  If only there were a modern day Robin Hood…  

But I digress…  It’s just been a hard season for me and I’m getting sick of losing to consumerism…oops I mean capitalism.  But I think I can talk for the majority of poor people in saying that we don’t feel blessed. 

God, when we will realize we cannot serve two masters?  Teach me to trust in You.  Teach me walk in You’re simple Truth.  Draw me closer and protect me from the evil one’s lies.  I trade you this fear and frusration for hope and love…

Well I took it upon my investigatory journalistic mission to find out who this Joe Six-Pack is…and I used the worlds greatest source for finding people…GOOGLE

Below is the result from a Joe Six-Pack image search…

Now I just don’t see Sarah Palin or John McCain palling around with this guy…  and I especially don’t think Obama and this guy would get along.

Gavin Thayer Investigates…. I report, you decide

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081008/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_mortgages

What happened to the fiscal theories of deregulation and the free market? Aren’t those the types of things that define Republican monetary doctrine? 

I don’t know if I necessarily disagree with the plan, but I do take issue with the obvious tactics of the McCain campaign to get votes. They can call Obama a liar all they want, but this to me is the biggest lie. Where is the integrity McCain talks about here?

It’s also interesting to note the type of language used…that good ol war language McCain is so familiar with. American Homeownership RESURGENCE Plan. Yeah, we just need a troop surge on this economic issue…. bayonets attached. That campaign is shamelessly trying to use that sort of language for their advantage. You’ll hear McCain and Palin talk about the current economic problem and then say “Never forget”… remind you of the rhetoric used with 911 and the Republicans willingness to go to war? Resurgence plan… like the troop surge in Iraq? The American people are tired of this war narrative… they want CHANGE…

That’s the oath the President of the United States of America takes on the day he(or she) is sworn in for office.  Pretty simple, right?  Well, if you’ve been following the course of American politics for the last two hundred years, you know it gets much more complicate.  I’m not one of those type of folks who calls themselves a “strict constitutionalist,” although I believe in strictly upholding the constitution.  I just don’t put as much “context” in upholding the rights of all Americans.  

Let me explain.  I think it’s foolish to believe we live in the same sort of world as the “founding fathers (whoever they might be).”  Too often I see people who wish to uphold the constitution by putting their own historical contextual bias around it.  Whether it be that the “founding fathers” created the U.S. with “Christian values” or they intended a weak central government, I see those types of points at irrelevant.  

We live in the most diverse (not just ethnically, but religiously) country in the world.  And much to the chagrin of many Christian Americans, our constitution protects the rights of all citizens.  In regards to many of the other issues, it’s important to remember the world of today is drastically different that it was at the founding.  We truly live in a global village and like it or not, the central government plays a strong role in that world.

So what is the role of the President in all of this?  Constitutionally, he(or she) doesn’t really have much to do…except appoint a few judges, ambassadors, and the like..oh and be the commander of the military.  In reality, the president effects much more.  They set the tone and priorities for the nation.  Although they do not introduce legislation, they certainly have a lot of sway with what makes it to his(or her) desk…especially if their party is the majority in Congress.  All of their appointments can have a lasting impact.  They challenge and inspire the nation to greater achievements, as exampled by JFK or FDR.  They take us into war…Bush #2.  Their world view shapes the view of America in the world.

So they do a lot.  Much more than we can tangibly know.  Yet we as a country and through the media, certain issues take precedent during the election campaign.  It’s funny to watch the process knowing that most of the issues will never touch the president…issues like abortion, gay marriage, and gun control.  

This season seems to have polarized everyone and everything.  Drawing distinctions and creating personas has become todays status quo in campaigning.  Everything is for political gain and nobody is honest.  As soon as a politician is elected, they begin running for reelection or even a spot higher on the political ladder.  

Given my cynicism and feelings of disenfranchisement from the current political establishment, I am going to began the task of defining myself politically.  So for the next few weeks leading up to the election, I am going to be looking at the issues that define the parties and the candidates…all the way from election refrom to immigration… and give my own position on them.

I’m sure they’ll be some fun points of disagreement with many of you…so feel free to chime in with your two-cents.

It was quite the experience.  I spent a lot of time reading, and learning, and stressing.  But in the end, I’m pretty happy with the result.  If you’ve ever had to do any sort of big speech, you understand the post-talk anxiety.  Did I cover everything I wanted to?  Was it completely boring?  What happened to all those great notes I prepared?  Well, thank goodness my dear friend Scott put the recording up online…and I’ve already listened to it and I feel pretty good about it.  Somehow God was able squeeze some sort of organization out of my jumbled head.

Just wanted to thank those of you who came to listen and support me.  I really appreciate it.  But for those of you who couldn’t…you can down load the podcast of it.  Just click on the link below.  Give it a listen..

The Catalyst service meets on Sunday nights at 6:00 p.m. in the Youth Ministry Building and usually will last an hour and half or so.  Don’t be surprised if there are a majority of people in their 20s, as that’s the sort of language that we speak.  It’s a friendly and casual community that is going together in Christ.  

You are all welcome to come…it’d be fun to see you.

People by the thousands drove/flew/walked/trained and even magic carpeted to offer their service and love to the people of New Orleans and surrounding areas. 

I had the pleasure and the honor of traveling down to New Orleans two months after Katrina.  I got to see first hand the humble passion of aid workers.  I got to see local lives transformed by the gestures and conversation of strangers.  Then in 2007, I travelled to New Orleans with my church to continue in the work that began two years earlier.  In all, I’ve spent a little over a month down there since Katrina hit.  I love the people, the culture, and the food of New Orleans.  Below is a slideshow from my 2007 trip…

As you probably know… if you’ve been watching any news at all…Hurricane Gustav is making it’s way towards New Orleans and the general Gulf coast.  It’s now made it’s way through Cuba and is picking up speed in the warm gulf waters.

My prayers are with the people of New Orleans.  May the levies hold and every person be safe.

Every time I am there and sit in with the doctors as they talk to Brittany about her luekemia, I walk away with some really intense feelings.  I feel like I’m not doing enough to be loving.  I feel like I’m not make strong enough statements against death and darkness…especially in the ways I spend money.  I feel like there’s so much more I can be doing.  I feel hope.  I feel God.

Now, I’ve not gone through any sort of medical issue ever in my life, thank God..so I’m not sure I have it figured out.  But what I am pretty sure I know is that hope is what makes surviving this possible.  Hope.  It’s an interesting response.  I almost feel guilty for feeling it…because it seems that the logical response to it should be sadness, defeat, hopelessness, overwhelmtion, etc.  Is God ever really that logical though?  Any time any person stands in faith, hope, and love in the face of adversity is a testament to the illogical truth of God.

And from that hope, I am moved.  I want to make that hope materialize.  I want to do any thing in my power to promote life.  As I listen to the doctors talk about treatment ideas and other tests, it become obvious very quickly that they are at a huge disadvantage in their fight against cancer.  They operate with such limited information.  When talking about cancer, the world’s brightest minds use words like “i think”, “we don’t really know”, “it might.”  It’s almost humorous how little they know.  But that’s where I’m hooked, in the research.  So much needs to be done.  It would not only help the doctors and patients fight for life, it might lead one day to curing it altogether.  

When people talk about cancer being like a war…it’s actually true.  There is literally a war going on between the body and the cancer.  It’s not just cliche.  In Brittany’s case the donors blood is starting to look strong, but as far as cancerous cells…she’s had a weak positive ever since her transplant.  That weak positive should not be occuring in ideal perfect conditions.  So since her weak positive grew a little from the last visit, the doctors are putting her back on some different chemos to try to kill as much of the weak positive as possible.  The hopes are that it gives the donor enough of a buffer to reach 100%.  Doesn’t that sound like battle strategy?  Like the doctors are military generals moving troops around the flanks.  It’s fascinating.

If you remember, I wrote about the bike race in Cool a few months ago.  Well, I’m planning on being there next year.  I’m planning on riding in it.  I’m planning on asking you guys for donations to the organization when the time comes.  I’m planning on making things of this sort a habit.  I might not be able to take on cancer all by myself…but I am able to take a stand against it.  I am able to avoid the pitfalls of our consumeristic, capitalistic, materialistic society.  I can at very least not have an attitude of entitlement. 

In the meantime…. please please please be praying for Brittany.  She is having to go on some medications again, and they take a lot out of her.  She is a trooper, but this is gonna be rough.  Encourage her.  Read about it at her blog… brittanyrandle.com