I'm sorry, what was that?

I've been hopping around between ChangePoint and Faith Community Church lately. I went to ChangePoint this morning, and I'm glad I did. Dan gave a very good reminder about something I rarely do, which is pray for the leadership of this country. It's easy to pray for a leader you're ideologically in tune with, isn't it? But what about when you're not? I've spent quite a lot of time over the last 9 to 12 months examining Barack Obama's record and how much he agrees with Marxist tenets outlined in The Communist Manifesto (feel free to read my blogs from last fall if you're so inclined). I am personally about as opposite of Mr. Obama as one could possible get. But do I pray for him? Should I pray for him? 1 Timothy 2:2 says that I should. In fact, when Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, the king of the land was none other than Nero, a deranged sadist who was the first Roman emperor to openly persecute Christians after the Great Fire of AD 64.

This, from roman-empire.net: "Nero, always a man desparate to be popular, therefore looked for scapegoats on whom the fire could be blamed. He found it in an obscure new religious sect, the Christians. And so many Christians were arrested and thrown to the wild beasts in the circus, or they were crucified. Many of them were also burned to death at night, serving as 'lighting' in Nero's gardens, while Nero mingled among the watching crowds. It is this brutal persecution which immortalized Nero as the first Antichrist in the eyes of the Christian church."

And Paul instructed Timothy to pray for "kings and all of those in authority"??

Which brings me to ME. Barack Obama stands for very little of what I believe in. His first 100 days have been, in my opinion, an unmitigated disaster. He is pushing our country so far towards totalitarianism that it could take a generation to undo what he's done, if we can at all. But I am instructed to obey my leaders and submit to their authority (Hebrews 13:17). I am instructed to love my neighbor (Luke 10:27). And yes, I am instructed to pray for him.


And so I shall.

If it's not one thing, it's another

So I started running the last time I was up here on the slope. I was jogging 3 times a week, and I actually worked my way up to a 4 mile run. I'd like to get to a point where I could take a serious stab at a marathon. It'd be a nice thing to cross of the "Bucket List", yes? Well, as luck would have it, I pulled a muscle in my lower leg the day before I went home, so I was out of commission. I tried to run on it after a week... no go. Waited until I came back up here, and tried again. Got just past a mile when it tweaked on me again. Waited another week... almost made it two mile before it strained yet again. Dammit! Well, I was feeling confident yesterday about trying another run, when guess what? I pulled a muscle in my lower back. $%#&*!

Needless to say, I'm not running today.

And speaking of Hawaii

Three weeks?

So I'm in the midst of a three week hitch up here in God's Country. I did one in late February/early March so I could go to Hawaii without taking any vacation time, and now I'm doing another to get back on my schedule (even though I don't really HAVE to). I probably shouldn't have, in hindsight, because three weeks up here sucks big time. By the time the last 3 or 4 days came around last time I was up here, I was just in zombie mode. Adjusting back to life when I got home took about 3 days longer than usual, too. Typically, I get home on Wednesday, and it pretty much takes a day or two to feel normal again. After my last three weeker, it took a good 5 days before my head came back from the Crab Nebula.

The only thing positive I can think of about this is that when I go back to two week hitches, it's going to go by REALLY quick.

I can't believe there's folks up here that do hitches that are four, six, or even eight weeks long. I couldn't do it, man. Put me in a straight-jacket.

Quote of the YEAR

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931-2005