Who Should You Vote For?

I don't particularly like it when Pastor's tell their congregation who they should vote for. Not all Pastors do this of course but, some do and often it is with the best of intentions. They are concerned about what could happen in our country if the candidate that they are not in favor of, wins the election. I understand their concerns. Nonetheless, I think it can be extremely divisive to push politics within the church.  I admire that these Pastors want to take an active role in politics but I believe the church is a place to learn about God and grow in one's faith. Politics are divisive by nature.  Politics literally turn friends into enemies. The church is supposed to be a place that unites congregants with the gospel of Jesus Christ, not a place that pits people against each other. 

On the other hand, I think that expecting all Pastors to never share their political thoughts is not necessarily the answer either. People have the right to use their voices for good and I very much believe in the freedom of speech.  If celebrities can loudly use their megaphones to push for a candidate than shouldn't Pastors be able to do the same? Or should neither be able to use their power this way? Should we censor them all? I jest. For the record, it grieves me that the predominantly liberal entertainment industry has such a powerful megaphone and influence over our young people and our country. People obsessively idolize celebrities and will do just about anything that one says. Likewise, many church goers, idolize their Pastors (which is not how it should be) and will do just about anything that their Pastor tells them to do. 

Our voices are very powerful and when given a platform, they become even more powerful. So whether I like it or not, do I fundamentally believe that celebrities and Pastors alike should have the liberty to speak on politics if they chose to. Yes. Is it the right thing to do? What do you think? In my opinion no. There are many things that we have the liberty to do but that doesn't necessarily make them right. For example, a parent has the liberty to get belligerently drunk every night in their own home if they chose to.  The result of abusing their liberty is that they will likely be a very lousy, neglectful parent. 

To be clear, I don't care if you vote Republican, Democrat or Independent. I celebrate your right to chose and I will not attack you for voting differently than I do.  In fact, I enjoy civil discussions. I want to know who you are voting for and why. I am open to the possibility that I don't know everything and I want to learn and grow. You have the right to do your own research and vote based on your political and personal leanings. While I tend to be more conservative in many (but not all) of my political leanings, I am not freaking out that Biden is President nor that Trump was not reelected.  My security was never in Trump or Biden, Bush or Clinton, Bush or Obama. My peace regardless of who is in office, stems from the fact that my hope and trust is not in the sitting President of our nation, but in God I trust. I held tightly to my faith while Trump was President and times were very turbulent and I will continue to hold tightly to my faith while Biden is in office and times continue to be turbulent. 

"Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the Holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her (the city/the people), she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; He lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." (Psalm 46:3-7) Psalm 46 is go good and when Shane and Shane sing it, wow, powerful. 

I recognize that if you do not share my faith, we see things from a different perspective. That is aok. This blog is a space for me to share my perspective and you are welcome to comment and share yours. 

Who should you vote for? Whoever you chose to! You will not get any hate from me. Enjoy that freedom.  

Just remember, the media is quite literally brainwashing us all. So please, do your own critical thinking. 

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First Love Your Neighbor

When will we learn. News flash: the truth is edited and twisted to fit whatever narrative the media company leans towards. Period. FOX is conservative. CNN is liberal.  Without a doubt both sides serve up a lying side of propaganda to fuel their agenda. Who is responsible for the capital riots? First and foremost, the people who rioted. People are responsible for their own actions and choices. Second, the media. Who incited the riot violence that occured in cities all over America last year? The media. The media specializes in destroying people's lives if they see fit and elevating others to God-like status and we eat out of their hand. 

The notion that some have that the news media presents all facts and can be trusted, is completely false. News outlets, more often than not, present partial, twisted truths, that they spin into a beautiful and believable web of lies in order to emotionally charge and rile the masses. 

This lawyer only had enough time to expose a few of the liberal media's efforts to twist the truth to serve their narrative.  If he had enough time to cull through all of the news stories presented over the past four years, what would he find? 

To be clear, I am certain that the same could be said of conservative news outlets, especially when a Democrat is in office. 

I like to toggle back and forth between CNN and FOX  and a few other news outlets. Somewhere in the middle of those extreme ends of the political spectrum, is a maybe a glimpse of truth. In my opinion. 

If you prefer one news outlet over the other due to your political leanings I get that but, when I hear people say that they only watch FOX news because it is the only honest news. Or, I only watch CNN because it is the only accurate news...I regret to inform you that you are being deceived. I doubt that any truly honest news exists. 

This is precisely why I struggle so much with politics and the news. These things somehow have the power to make us hate our neighbor, abandon a friend and renounce a family member. To make us gossip and slander a good name. In some extreme cases, these things seem to have the power to incite violence against our fellow man. It is all so heartbreaking. It should not be this way. 

Guard your heart and mind and love your neighbor. Take all of the political garbage and put it off to the side for just a moment. See how much hate and rage dissipates when you set politics aside for a minute.  Remember that we are all flesh and blood and worthy of being loved regardless of our political leanings.

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Winter Wilters

 I am not a winter thriver. I wish that I was. Those of you who thrive in the Winter please share your secrets. I am a Spring, Summer and Fall girl. I was born and raised in Southern California where temperatures rarely dip below 60 degrees so my threshold for cold temperatures is very low.  I moved to the East Coast roughly 14 years ago and while I love the variety of seasons that I now get to enjoy, winter is still my least favorite. I am currently typing this with thick fuzzy socks on my feet, a heavy blanket on my lap and still my hands and feet are ice. Brrrr...

To top it off, we have had more gray skies and rainy days this January and February than I can ever recall having since moving here. I am feeling great empathy for people who live in Seattle and areas that can count on months of moody skies every year.  

I was telling a friend this week, that I feel like our strange weather this year seems fitting for the times that we are living in. Still battling a world-wide Pandemic. Isolation from friends and family for nearly a year. Everyone home, all the time. Claustrophobic houses. Then add to it the political and racial tension, division and hatred. It's like our homes are crowded kettles, that have been strategically placed over a blazing camp fire. It's getting hot in here! So why not throw in perpetual rain, cold and gray skies to intensify the feeling of the walls closing in. 

I know well enough that this is just a season. It will most certainly pass someday, just as all the seasons before it. I hope you know it too. Hang in there friends. 

Another contributor to the blazing fire under the kettle is Social Media. On the one hand, I am very grateful for it. It has made a way for me to keep in touch with so many friends and family members. It has also been a fun source of inspiration. I love following decorators, people that love Jesus and shine their light and kind, down to earth influencers.  I don't mind when people share their differing faiths, viewpoints, lifestyles etc. but, I very much do mind when people are attacking, bullying and hate filled towards people who believe differently than they do and this goes for all sides of every argument.  

Something that I have observed and found to be very interesting is how wildly differing people's views on hatred are. I have one friend in particular who regularly posts her hatred for Republicans, conservatives, Christians and especially Donald Trump and anyone who supports him. According to her, people who support Trump are no different than Nazis.  Many agree with her.  Maybe in some cases, there is even a shred of truth to how she feels but, is it true that all conservatives or people who voted for Trump are no different than Nazis. Absolutely not. This is false and a very vicious, narrow-minded accusation. She is allowed to make these comments regularly. She has never been censored or removed from social media. Truthfully, while I wish she would spend more time hugging Jesus and less time hating people, I do not believe it is my right to revoke her freedom of speech, nor force her to hug Jesus. Though her words are vile in my opinion and she essentially sounds like a Democrat Trump by her own definition of what she despises about him, I believe that she has the right to express her opinions. People can choose to listen to her or not. I see that her rants are a way for her to diffuse the rage that she is feeling. She hates Donald Trump as many do. Her hostile posts are a way for her to make her voice heard, and to feel in control when the world feels like it is spinning out of control. That is where I can relate to her and find compassion for her. I can understand how she feels even if our perspectives and approaches are very different. This is where humanity is found. In fighting through the wreckage to find the good in another soul and building a bridge there. 

Since I tend to be more conservative in my political views, it can feel personal (especially when I forget to keep my armor on), when my louder liberal friends are daily posting their disgust for anyone who believes differently than they do.  Hi, remember me?  Someone who has differing beliefs than you and yet loves you dearly. However; also true, is that I may not even notice that many of my outspoken conservative friends are doing the same thing to my liberal friends.  Bashing them ruthlessly.  It's easy to be blind to hate when it speaks our own rhetoric or language and doesn't challenge us in any way.  I am most certainly guilty of this. It is nearly impossible to look at a differing perspective without filtering it through our own biases. Therefore, we rarely see anything clearly. Everyone is so angry. Everyone wants to be heard. Everyone is right in their own eyes. (Proverbs 21:2) What we feel, and expressing it at any cost, is more important than loving our neighbor.  Thanks to social media, everyone has a platform (except for those who have been censored) and it is SO NOISY now.  It's getting much harder to hear Jesus' still small voice through all of this noise. 

Forgive us Lord, help us to hear you and please heal our land. (Isaiah 6) 

I have good news for Winter wilters, in only 36 short days, it will be SPRING! Hallelujah! Warmer days, sunny skies and beautiful garden flowers are on the way.  Keep pressing on. Keep shining the light. Keep hoping and keep the faith. 

Love to you all,

Casey

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Hypocrisy

 I love this picture of two former United States Democrat Presidents and one former Republican President, enjoying each other’s company. This image represents that unity and respect is possible in spite of differences. [source: Today Show ]

 

"Hypocrisy - The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense."

One thing that we might all agree on is that dealing with hypocrites is frustrating, annoying and sometimes down right infuriating and nothing reveals the hypocrisy in us all quite like a politically charged season in the United States.  Many of us are quick to call out the hypocrisy in others all day long on social media but few of us are capable of looking in the mirror and calling out our own hypocrisy. I am surely guilty of this.  It's quite challenging, to see ourselves from a different vantage point and to loosen our grip on our need to be right all the time. 

Honest, painful, self-reflection isn't something that many of us do very well. Humbling ourselves and admitting when we have said or done wrong. Can we even expect this of people in 2021 or is it a lost art? 

I have never taken much of an interest in politics because well, I can't stand the arena. I am too sensitive for the battle ground that is politics and I find it to be, more often than not, fruitless and divisive. On the other hand, I cannot deny the fact that politics are an essential part of democracy. Therefore, if I am grateful for the great democracy that I live and thrive in, I must by association, in some way of speaking, be deeply grateful for the people who have made it their life's work to do the dirty work of politics that I would never wish to do. Whew. 

Politics are messy. I don't think there is any way of getting around that. Dealing with a melting pot of people with different beliefs, hurts and needs is messy. Dealing with money is messy. Making monumental decisions that affect an entire nation is bound to be messy and controversial. Messy. 

God bless our politicians. They have a tough job to say the least and since they are all human, they are by default, flawed, imperfect, hypocrites, as are you and I. See, we have something in common now.  Smile. 

Democrats and many Republicans who couldn't stand Trump and found him downright repulsive, are celebrating that he is now out of office and President Biden has been elected. Those who voted for him are elated. Rightfully so! They endured a candidate who they did not vote for and despised for four years. Now is their time in the sun. Their time to have their voices heard. It is an understandable celebration. Winners celebrate. Also widely celebrated is the first female Vice President in US history. It is a historic victory for many women. Many are celebrating and hopeful that these new leaders will bring about the change that they are desperately longing for. Maybe these leaders will be the cure for what ails America. 

On the other hand, those who did not vote for Biden, are not as elated. They are likely feeling the mixture of unpleasant feelings that one often feels when their candidate of choice loses. Democrats do you remember what that feels like? Of course you do. You felt those feelings when Trump was elected and all throughout his term.  Feelings of fear, anger and sadness are weighing heavily on many conservatives now.  But how could that be democrats wonder?  In the eyes of the victors, Biden is charismatic, smart, has a touching life story and is backed by the adored Obama family.  What's not to like about Biden?  Those who voted for Biden, now loudly declare that now is the time for unity, now is the time to heal. Now that their candidate has won and they are getting what they want, now is the time for unity. 

Conservatives who didn't vote for Biden find this declaration for unity and healing now, to be total hypocrisy. Where was the Democrat cry for unity when Trump was President?  Better yet, since Trump is a controversial President, where was this Democrat cry for unity when any Republican President has been in office? And likewise, where is the Republican cry for unity when a Democrat is elected. 

Democrats, you are often the source of tension and lack of unity when a Republican is in office. 

Republicans, you are often the source of tension and lack of unity when a Democrat is in office. 

If we demand and fight for unity only when a candidate of our choosing is in office then we will never have unity. We are like repelling magnets. They will never be brought together. Each political party is made up of many players and if you are on a political team then you contribute to the problem of division. If you hail your side as the only side capable of restoring unity, then you are contributing to the division. So the question is: How can we do better? How can we work towards unity when we are so different? How can we work towards unity even when our candidate loses and we struggle with all of those uncomfortable feelings? How can we be more compassionate and sensitive to people feeling those feelings?  How can we better reach across the invisible line? How can we keep our own emotions in check when social media and the news spew so much negativity and controversy? 

As I type this, I imagine that I am talking to my son and daughter after they have gotten in an ugly fight. Their faces are furrowed in anger and accusation toward the other. One is standing to my left and one to my right. I love them both dearly. They both have good intentions and mean well but, in those moments of anger and intense emotion, they cannot relate to each other. They cannot find common ground and they do not have the emotional maturity to resolve their differences in a civil way. They need a mediator. They need wise counsel and encouragement. They need to be pointed back to love. They need to be reminded that while they are quite different, that they also have so much in common and they can build on those common interests and strengths instead of tearing apart over their differences. Sometimes the differences have to be sidelined. It takes practice and skill to set the differences aside and not take them personal. Sometimes we simply have to work with what we've got and dig in and do our part to make a difference even in leadership that we do not fully agree with. I'm not sure what this looks like exactly but, one can hope and dream for change right? I dream of a day when Republicans and Democrats can link arms and work together toward some common goals in spite of differences. I dream of a day when people will learn how to listen to opposing views without becoming unhinged. I dream of a day when people will remember that politics are not more important than loving your neighbor as yourself. I may be dreaming of Heaven but I will continue to hope for more of that kind of unity here. 

 I have so much more to say on these matters but motherhood calls. 

Please feel free to share your civil thoughts in the comments below. Differing view points are always welcome. 

Happy Tuesday fellow hypocrites! 

Sidenote: I love Jesus and I will share my faith regularly on this blog. Jesus' example inspires me every day to lay down my entitled anger and choose love even when it pains me to do so.  Love is the only way to unity. I recognize that not all of you share my faith. That is okay. 

Love and Peace. 

Casey

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