"I'm Right"
Standing across from a very dull wit,
I’m surely unsure and decide now to sit.
The world went changing twenty times ‘round us,
Yet he won’t budge nor move lest hit by a bus.
WAKE UP YOU YOUNG CUSS! Can’t you see the guise?
Be ye still so stubborn, you can’t change your mind?
I beg you to budge, to alter your ways.
If not you will stagnate, and stay just the same!
Though I wish now for things to be clearer,
‘Tis right…I’m sitting ‘fore me in the mirror.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
When it comes to love, today's American society focuses on two things:
1. Falling in love
2. Growing old together
It seems that being there for your spouse used to be easier. That's easy when you grew up in a loving family - generally sheltered from any spousal problems. It's easy when you're young and energetic. It's easy when you don't have children pulling you in their direction all day, or when your job doesn't require more of you than your family should allow. Actually, what used to be easy was being romantic - holding hands, eating out, going around the world, date night. What I still needed to learn was how to love.
I needed to learn that it was more than just being romantic. Love was putting other lusts aside, it was cherishing her for who she was, it was loving God so much that I wanted her to grow in his love too. The basic premise of the book The Sacred Marriage is that marriage is a tool that God uses to bring us closer to him. And, when you really delve into it, we can be superbly blessed by a Godly marriage by more than just happiness. For me, God did chose to use marriage to make me happy. He showed me satisfaction and happiness that I probably never would have found if it wasn't for Lindley. That said, he's given us much more than this: peace through each other, friendship, love, and most importantly he's been using it to bring us closer to him. For years, we went our own direction, but now he's using us to sharpen eachother.
So, back to my original point...what about the times inbetween falling in love and growing old together. What happens with all of the aforementioned distractions? Fight to still be romantic: fly around the world, give flowers, offer compliments, listen even when you don't want to. Recognize that this isn't your spouse's fault either. It may be frustrating, but there is rarely a time when it is completely black or white. So, I will leave you with a poem written by a man in love. He and his wife had many children, suffered miscarriages, his famed wit required him to travel to entertain kings, but through all of this, these two still knew to love even through the rough times. Therefore, do the same. Take 100% responsibility for what you can do in your marriage, and don't let go of the love. Grow old together by loving each other. This is John Donne's "The Sun Rising:"
Busy old fool, unruly Sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curtains, call on us?
Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
Late schoolboys, and sour prentices,
Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride,
Call country ants to harvest offices,
Love, all alike, no season knows, nor clime,
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.
Thy beams, so reverend and strong
Why shouldst thou think?
I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
But that I would not lose her sight so long:
If her eyes have not blinded thine,
Look, and tomorrow late, tell me
Whether both th' Indias of spice and mine
Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.
Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,
And thou shalt hear: "All here in one bed lay."
She is all states, and all princes I,
Nothing else is.
Princes do but play us; compar'd to this,
All honour's mimic, all wealth alchemy.
Thou, sun, art half as happy 's we,
In that the world's contracted thus;
Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be
To warm the world, that's done in warming us.
Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
This bed thy centre is, these walls, thy sphere.
1. Falling in love
2. Growing old together
It seems that being there for your spouse used to be easier. That's easy when you grew up in a loving family - generally sheltered from any spousal problems. It's easy when you're young and energetic. It's easy when you don't have children pulling you in their direction all day, or when your job doesn't require more of you than your family should allow. Actually, what used to be easy was being romantic - holding hands, eating out, going around the world, date night. What I still needed to learn was how to love.
I needed to learn that it was more than just being romantic. Love was putting other lusts aside, it was cherishing her for who she was, it was loving God so much that I wanted her to grow in his love too. The basic premise of the book The Sacred Marriage is that marriage is a tool that God uses to bring us closer to him. And, when you really delve into it, we can be superbly blessed by a Godly marriage by more than just happiness. For me, God did chose to use marriage to make me happy. He showed me satisfaction and happiness that I probably never would have found if it wasn't for Lindley. That said, he's given us much more than this: peace through each other, friendship, love, and most importantly he's been using it to bring us closer to him. For years, we went our own direction, but now he's using us to sharpen eachother.
So, back to my original point...what about the times inbetween falling in love and growing old together. What happens with all of the aforementioned distractions? Fight to still be romantic: fly around the world, give flowers, offer compliments, listen even when you don't want to. Recognize that this isn't your spouse's fault either. It may be frustrating, but there is rarely a time when it is completely black or white. So, I will leave you with a poem written by a man in love. He and his wife had many children, suffered miscarriages, his famed wit required him to travel to entertain kings, but through all of this, these two still knew to love even through the rough times. Therefore, do the same. Take 100% responsibility for what you can do in your marriage, and don't let go of the love. Grow old together by loving each other. This is John Donne's "The Sun Rising:"
Busy old fool, unruly Sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curtains, call on us?
Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
Late schoolboys, and sour prentices,
Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride,
Call country ants to harvest offices,
Love, all alike, no season knows, nor clime,
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.
Thy beams, so reverend and strong
Why shouldst thou think?
I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
But that I would not lose her sight so long:
If her eyes have not blinded thine,
Look, and tomorrow late, tell me
Whether both th' Indias of spice and mine
Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.
Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,
And thou shalt hear: "All here in one bed lay."
She is all states, and all princes I,
Nothing else is.
Princes do but play us; compar'd to this,
All honour's mimic, all wealth alchemy.
Thou, sun, art half as happy 's we,
In that the world's contracted thus;
Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be
To warm the world, that's done in warming us.
Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
This bed thy centre is, these walls, thy sphere.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Super Long Blog - Go Grab a Cup of Coffee
I have only lived in one country other than the United States of America, and that was only for 4-5 months as a college student. I have not seen first hand atrocities committed in some nations, or fearmongering that dominates others. I have not experienced first hand the liberties upheld in many other countries that encourage creativity, art and expression, or that provide education exceedingly well.
What I do know is that God has blessed me to live in the United States. Most people see the blessing of being an American as a wealth issue, and that would be true if I believed that God put much credence in wordly wealth. But blessings that God has given me through my country come from other areas: the freedom to vote, the freedom to practice life as a Christian without fear of significant persecution, the ability to choose how to educate my children, and many other similar areas that I take for granted.
But this blog is not about the greatness of the United States of America because, though we have freedoms, we also have flaws. One of these flaws is our history of slavery. A related flaw is our history of racism. And a final related flaw – see a theme here – is modern racism.
Now, all three of these areas have very different levels of atrocity that I won't expound upon in great detail. As I am not a minority, I do not have enough experience to speak to the modern day racism – most of my experience is anecdotal. As I am not African American old enough to have a relative that was a slave, or that lived through the historical racism that occurred post-abolition and during the civil rights movement; I do not have enough experience to speak to those areas either. So, I will not dwell any more on this than to note that today my eyes were opened to the fact that modern day racism is a completely different topic than when civil liberties were prevented just 35 and sometimes fewere years ago.
So, why all of this today? Well, you may have guessed: our nation experienced the first moment yesterday that made me truly proud of our country in a few years. I’m afraid that by writing this statement, I may mislead you to think that I, out of all my wisdom, voted for Barack Obama as president. I did not – and that is hard to say as I fear that someone, other than my wife, may read this post. I always try to keep my political decisions very close to the vest. But, as a dutiful blogger, it is my obligation to fully disclose that I voted for John McCain. I gave strong consideration to voting for Obama merely because of the importance it should hold for our country not only to the African American community, but for the nation as a whole. Though for a large, important piece of our country, that one issue was the only issue; for me it was one of many. Fiscally, I believed in other philosophies; socially I was divided on issues; and regarding Iraq, I disagree with the initial exit strategies I heard. Therefore, it wasn’t enough to swing my vote. (Okay, I apologize, but the lawyers made me use this paragraph.)
But I realize that, as even one who did not vote for President-Elect Obama swells with pride, this one issue may not be the only issue for some people because it concerns race, but may be the only issue for many because it is transcendent. Minorities that once thought that we were 25 or more years away from electing an African American president, can now see that it is possible to move forward today. When Charlie is 4 years old, and possibly 8, he will only know a history that includes a black president. Luke will likely only remember one president at that point in his life too. This is only a small step to overcome inequalities that exist in our nation, but it is a step that is affecting and molding millions of young Americans.
I listened to both McCain and Obama speak last night – after the race had been decided. These were two outstanding Americans that made me appreciate the decision our country made. True, Obama said what needed to be said about working across party lines, and you may or may not believe it. What I do believe is that this is a man that will lead the way he is convicted rather than where the party dictates. At least I can’t think of any strong liberal democratic leaders to whom he owes this victory. (I am not oblivious to the fact that his philosophies are quite liberal themselves, but hear me out.)
Currently, he has changed 86 electorates votes (and I believe NC will go his way too which will bring that tally up to 101) from red to blue – about 19%. This represents votes where Americans were not concerned with voting one party or the other, but were voting on issues. I am hopeful that this will be a new era in politics. Not an era where Newt Gingrich or Nancy Pelosi spout about how the other party created this nations problems, but one where we can address individual issues on their merits rather than on their party.
President-Elect Obama and I disagree on a great number of issues, and I imagine he will make decisions and lead the nation in directions that makes me cringe. But, Franklyn Delano Roosevelt made decisions that horrified the nation too. Do you recall the “fascistic and socialistic” New Deal policies including the Social Security Act, the FDIC, the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Emergency Banking Relief Act the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Federal Securities Act, the National Labor Relations Act, and the nationalization of gold (which would absolutely appall me)? These are largely seen as acts that helped sustain our nation until WWII finally pulled us out of the financial crisis.
Therefore, though I may cringe, I believe that we have a man that will truly lead, and I am thrilled to see that our country has proven that we know we can be led by a person regardless of his race. Congratulations President-Elect Obama, and we will be praying for you as our leader.
THE END
What I do know is that God has blessed me to live in the United States. Most people see the blessing of being an American as a wealth issue, and that would be true if I believed that God put much credence in wordly wealth. But blessings that God has given me through my country come from other areas: the freedom to vote, the freedom to practice life as a Christian without fear of significant persecution, the ability to choose how to educate my children, and many other similar areas that I take for granted.
But this blog is not about the greatness of the United States of America because, though we have freedoms, we also have flaws. One of these flaws is our history of slavery. A related flaw is our history of racism. And a final related flaw – see a theme here – is modern racism.
Now, all three of these areas have very different levels of atrocity that I won't expound upon in great detail. As I am not a minority, I do not have enough experience to speak to the modern day racism – most of my experience is anecdotal. As I am not African American old enough to have a relative that was a slave, or that lived through the historical racism that occurred post-abolition and during the civil rights movement; I do not have enough experience to speak to those areas either. So, I will not dwell any more on this than to note that today my eyes were opened to the fact that modern day racism is a completely different topic than when civil liberties were prevented just 35 and sometimes fewere years ago.
So, why all of this today? Well, you may have guessed: our nation experienced the first moment yesterday that made me truly proud of our country in a few years. I’m afraid that by writing this statement, I may mislead you to think that I, out of all my wisdom, voted for Barack Obama as president. I did not – and that is hard to say as I fear that someone, other than my wife, may read this post. I always try to keep my political decisions very close to the vest. But, as a dutiful blogger, it is my obligation to fully disclose that I voted for John McCain. I gave strong consideration to voting for Obama merely because of the importance it should hold for our country not only to the African American community, but for the nation as a whole. Though for a large, important piece of our country, that one issue was the only issue; for me it was one of many. Fiscally, I believed in other philosophies; socially I was divided on issues; and regarding Iraq, I disagree with the initial exit strategies I heard. Therefore, it wasn’t enough to swing my vote. (Okay, I apologize, but the lawyers made me use this paragraph.)
But I realize that, as even one who did not vote for President-Elect Obama swells with pride, this one issue may not be the only issue for some people because it concerns race, but may be the only issue for many because it is transcendent. Minorities that once thought that we were 25 or more years away from electing an African American president, can now see that it is possible to move forward today. When Charlie is 4 years old, and possibly 8, he will only know a history that includes a black president. Luke will likely only remember one president at that point in his life too. This is only a small step to overcome inequalities that exist in our nation, but it is a step that is affecting and molding millions of young Americans.
I listened to both McCain and Obama speak last night – after the race had been decided. These were two outstanding Americans that made me appreciate the decision our country made. True, Obama said what needed to be said about working across party lines, and you may or may not believe it. What I do believe is that this is a man that will lead the way he is convicted rather than where the party dictates. At least I can’t think of any strong liberal democratic leaders to whom he owes this victory. (I am not oblivious to the fact that his philosophies are quite liberal themselves, but hear me out.)
Currently, he has changed 86 electorates votes (and I believe NC will go his way too which will bring that tally up to 101) from red to blue – about 19%. This represents votes where Americans were not concerned with voting one party or the other, but were voting on issues. I am hopeful that this will be a new era in politics. Not an era where Newt Gingrich or Nancy Pelosi spout about how the other party created this nations problems, but one where we can address individual issues on their merits rather than on their party.
President-Elect Obama and I disagree on a great number of issues, and I imagine he will make decisions and lead the nation in directions that makes me cringe. But, Franklyn Delano Roosevelt made decisions that horrified the nation too. Do you recall the “fascistic and socialistic” New Deal policies including the Social Security Act, the FDIC, the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Emergency Banking Relief Act the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Federal Securities Act, the National Labor Relations Act, and the nationalization of gold (which would absolutely appall me)? These are largely seen as acts that helped sustain our nation until WWII finally pulled us out of the financial crisis.
Therefore, though I may cringe, I believe that we have a man that will truly lead, and I am thrilled to see that our country has proven that we know we can be led by a person regardless of his race. Congratulations President-Elect Obama, and we will be praying for you as our leader.
THE END
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