Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Gifts: A Christmas Poem

I wrote this Christmas poem back in 1998, when Tickle Me Elmo and Furbies were all the rage (and in the news now as well, but for different reasons).  This is one of my earliest Christmas poems, and like "Recipe for Christmas", it's still a favorite:


Gifts

                                                                                              by 
                                                                                             Gary Van Buren

A poem handwritten
A cute furry kitten
A Cabbage Patch, Elmo, or Furby doll
Italian furniture
A makeover/manicure
Freedom, liberty, and justice for all

A Christmas wreath
My two front teeth
A Dreamhouse for Barbie and Ken
A baby rattle
A ping-pong paddle
Peace and goodwill to men

A PC CD-ROM
An interoffice intercom
Comic books and a baseball glove
Five golden rings
My favorite things
Family, friends, faith, hope, and love

Novels, CD's, and tapes
Sheets, pillows, and drapes
And hope for a bright tomorrow
A turtledove
Things made with love
Understanding in times of sorrow

Expensive things
Like diamond rings
A house, theater tickets, or a car
The twinkling light
In Jesus' sight
Shining bright from the Bethlehem Star

Perfume and make-up
Clothes that take up
All of the room in your closet
Toys overpriced
Faith in Christ
And the events in our lives that cause it

A hoop and basketball
Extra Strength Tylenol
Movies or a new fishing rod
A video game
Fortune and Fame
The breath of life from God

A tall evergreen
A nativity scene
And just way too much merchandise
But the best gift of all
Is our save from the fall;
The miracle of God's sacrifice


Thank you for the gift, Jesus
Happy Birthday
Christmas 1998


Sunday, November 25, 2012

The Woman and the Dragon: A Christmas Revelation

I can sometimes be intense, and overdo it a little in my writing, I'm sometimes told.  I'd agree.


Last year, our pastor had read from Revelation, chapter 12 as it pertains to the story of Christmas, the birth of our Savior, and I had thought that might make for an interesting Christmas poem.  And so I wrote a poem called “The Woman and the Dragon: A Christmas Revelation”, which is the subtitle for Revelation, chapter 12 (linked here), and the poem is essentially an introduction, then the entire chapter twelve of Revelation rewritten as a poem, and then a conclusion.  I was very please with it, and Mom and my sister Kim liked it too, but even Kim expressed concerns that it was way too deep for most people to understand.  My sister-in-law Darece said she could imagine someone opening it, seeing how long it was, and putting it aside, saying “I’ll just get to that later,” and then never getting back to it (or not wanting to once they struggled with how deep it was).
     At any rate, here’s the poem:

 The Woman and the Dragon: A Christmas Revelation

by Gary Van Buren

A Babe born in a manger, angels sing His praise on high
Yet there is so much more to this Christmas tale than merely meets the eye
And so into this factual, biblical story we will delve
Take a peek behind the curtain in Revelation, Chapter Twelve:

A great and wondrous sign in heaven above did appear
A symbolic vivid vision, impressive and sincere
A woman clothed with the sun, and under her feet, the moon
And on her pretty head, a crown of twelve stars was strewn

Pregnant, and about to birth, the woman cried out in pain
When another sign in heaven was about to bleed red rain
An enormous crimson dragon, with seven nasty heads
On each, a crown and ten big horns; the thing a sane man dreads

A third of the stars were swept from the sky with a brush of its mighty tail
And hurled them far-flung down below, unto the earth impale
It stood in front of the woman, her child it might devour
To doom mankind to torturous hell upon that very hour

The woman bore a Son to rule all nations with an iron scepter
Snatched up to heaven to sit on a thrown, by God, our great protector
The woman escaped to a desert place, and there she perseveres
To be cared for by God who prepared it, residing for three and a half years

A great war in heaven had ensued, with the dragon on the attack
Michael and his angels fought him, and he and his demons fought back
But the dragon, that serpent called Satan, who leads the whole world astray
Was, with the angels who followed him, hurled to the earth that day

And then a voice from heaven spoke, giving this proclamation:
“Now has come the Kingdom of God.  Now has come salvation
And the authority of his Christ; for the accuser with heads of seven
Accusing our brothers to God day and night has been hurled down from heaven

“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony
They risked their very existence against those full of sanctimony
Therefore, rejoice you heavens and you who dwell in them so true!
But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you!
“He is filled with fiery fury because he knows that his time is short”
When the dragon saw he had been hurled down, to vengeance did he resort
He pursued the woman who had given birth, just like a blood-sucking leech
But the woman was given the wings of an eagle, to fly from the serpent’s reach

She flew to a place prepared in the desert, in this revelation sublime
Where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time
Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water just like a river
To sweep her away with the torrent, away from the Holy Life-Giver

But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing all of the waters
The dragon was enraged and went off to make war on her sons and daughters
Against those who obey God’s commandments and the testimony of Jesus Christ
And yet, take heart, all you who believe, for God wins the final tryst
           
We see Christmas from our perspective, and the things we can know for certain
But there’s more there when, like Dorothy in Oz, we peek behind the curtain
In this bible book, where the dragon is Satan and the woman represents us
We can see God’s plan at work in the heavens, and our salvation through Jesus!

For God had a plan for us, created out of his love
He sent his Son down to cover our sins, and our release thereof
It’s cause to celebrate the birth of our Savior with jubilation
Seeing just a mere glimpse beyond in this astounding revelation!
                                   
Now, I really like this poem, but Kim, and Mom, and Darece are right when they say it’s much too deep for everyone.  My thought was that if they take their Bible down from the shelf and read Revelation, chapter 12, they’re going to be presented with the exact same thoughts and images from this poem, for this poem is, essentially, that entire chapter in poetic form, with just a short single stanza introduction, and a two stanza conclusion to make sense of it all.
     Therefore, I found the time to rewrite it as a shorter poem that takes more time to explain these images and how they fit in with the idea of Christmas, and not to just rewrite a chapter from Revelation, and everyone enjoyed that poem much more, and that poem is called “Beyond the Nativity,” which I’ll share it next week.  I’m still not sorry I wrote “The Woman and the Dragon: A Christmas Revelation".  I don't know.  What do you all think (if there is a "you all")?

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Recipe for Christmas

My earliest Christmas poem, circa 1992, is still one of my favorites:

Recipe for Christmas

by
Gary Van Buren

Take the first Christmas snowflake that falls within your sight
And add it to the Christmas pie you eat on Christmas night
Then add a heaping help of love for you and all your friends
With just a dash of Christmas cheer to help us make amends

Then stir in some Christmas songs; we'll add both old and new
Those yuletide hymns from times gone by, and pop and country too
We'll roast some chestnuts by the fire, then add, say, half a cup
Good will and charity around the world will fill all bellies up

Then we'll add a Christmas tree, complete with ornaments
And odor of pine trees and turkeys, and other Christmas scents
We'll add the entertainment, like Frosty, Scrooge, and the Grinch
They make us laugh, they make us think; we'll add but just a pinch

We'll mix in jolly Santa Claus, his elves and reindeer too
Including the tale of Rudolph; yes, we all know it's true!
We'll even add consumers buying gifts at all the stores
Having fun, thinking of loved ones, as they attend to shopping chores

But there is one final ingredient; the one we must think of most:
God the Father, Jesus the Son, and of course, the Holy Ghost
For Jesus was born on this divine night, 'tis His birthday which we celebrate
Without Baby Jesus, there could be no Christmas recipe for our plate!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Christmas is More

Christmas is More

by
Gary Van Buren

Christmas is more than fighting crowds in a store
Buying gifts and paying high prices
Christmas is more than lighted Christmas trees
And electronic holiday devices
Christmas is more than family and friends
Christmas is all about Jesus
For Christmas exists to celebrate not just Him
But the sacrifice that He made for us.

Christmas is more than that sweet Baby Boy
Born in some nativity scene manger
Christmas is more than a carpenter
Teaching wisely about moral danger
Christmas celebrates the glory of Christ
The Word and Son of God
He gave up His life so that we could find Heaven
I am inspired, humbled, and awed

For it is not the Boy, nor the Man, but the Spirit
With an essence like sweet violins
He died for us all on an old wooden cross
And took upon Himself all of our sins
That miracle gives us eternal life
In Heaven, where God's love oversees us
Christmas is more than man's mind can explore;
It is more, for it celebrates Jesus

Happy Birthday, Savior of Mankind!

- From Christmas, 1997

Monday, November 12, 2012

Were the Republicans Blind and Deaf to the Reality of Modern America?

I usually don't post in here except something new on the weekends and something old on Wednesdays, and always from my journal.  However, I have something on my mind that I probably won't put in my journal, and is a bit long, with too many links, for Facebook and Google+.  If nothing else, I highly recommend you read the three articles I link below by Thomas Sowell, Mona Charen, and Matt Barber, they are THAT GOOD in explaining what happened during this election, and where this country is headed!

For weeks, I've had an inkling that perhaps Romney wouldn't win.  After talking with several liberals, some of what they talked about had me concerned that Obama was going to win a second term, even with his dismal record.  I tried to express my concerns in some of my previous posts, such as 
(all linked through the titles, and all of which I had previously written in my journals).  Some family members who have read them have invariably enjoyed, if not quite understanding what I was ultimately trying to say.  Maybe even I wasn't quite clear on what I was trying to say, which, in retrospect, is that I am on the conservative right, but that many, many people are not.  Too many, infact, to win us the election.  I was just trying to understand them, but I, along with all those on the conservative right, including Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Medved, Mike Gallagher, and Sean Hannity, didn't see the writing on the wall until it was too late.  Were the republicans just too optimistic about their chances?  Why was I more nervous and less confident about this election than they were?
     So now, as we try to pick up the pieces of this unsuccessful run at the presidency, some pundits are trying to figure it all out.  I'm not sure what the left is saying because I rarely listen to them (though I will be listening to Air America tomorrow on my to and from work because I like to know what they're saying and thinking every so often), but some on the right still don't quite understand what happened.  Others do, and I was struck by the three following articles from Townhall.com that laid it all out better than I could.  These should be read, if not by everybody, then at least by those on the right, conservatives, republicans, and Christians.  These three articles are all linked to the actual articles through the titles:
Nice Losers by Thomas Sowell
and God Will Not Be Mocked by Matt Barber
     And I realize after reading these articles that America is not the same America it once was.  This America just elected a president to a second term of office, and this president is embroiled in the midst of two scandals (Benghazi and General Petraeus' infidelity and resignation) the general public at large seems to actually care little about.  This America just embraced abortion, gay marriage, legalizing drugs, bigger government, socialized medicine, ongoing debt, continuing unemployment, illegal immigration, and entitlement.  This America just voted a president into a second term that our enemies were rooting for.  What's wrong with this picture.
     This is not an America I condone or recognize anymore.
     And after reading these articles, I fear it will probably only get worse. 

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Modern America: What Will Clean Our Muddy Waters?


Needless to say, I was saddened over the elections.  I wrote this on the very day of the election, before the votes came in:

Mom and I have a Britta water pitcher.  We put water in the top, and it gets filtered as it drips down so that the water we drink is pure and clean and free of contaminants.
     I only wish it would work this way with people.  The water in America – and let’s face it, in the rest of the world – is muddy, and I’m not talking about H2O!
     I was going to talk in here about my respect for the military, who fight against a foreign enemy, and cops, who fight against a domestic enemy, and firefighters, and doctors, and I was even toying with the idea of writing my thoughts about prison, as this is where a friend of my sister’s and her husband is right now, and I sometimes wonder what life must be like for him.  I am not the type of person that could handle any of those professions or situations.  But it gets me thinking about all the different shades and hues that exist in today’s society, and in all places, and very little of it helps to clear things up.  It’s all just so much more mud in the water.  Because in America, land of the free, everybody is entitled to their rights and their opinions, and everybody has them.  But do they help clean the water, or do they just make it even muddier?
     As I write this, in an election year, on the very day people will be voting for the next President of the United States, the political fighting is occurring fast and furious, and it’s no coincidence I chose to use those specific words “fast and furious” (see the article linked here).  There are certainly shady dealings and outright atrocities surrounding Obama and his cabinet before and during his term in office.  Benghazianyone?  Yet still people will vote for him.  They bring up Romney’s record of fighting for big business, and they may even have a point.  There’s a certain amount of corruption in all government, isn't there?  But is it just more mud in the water?  Who really would be a better leader for this country?  When I ask that question, only Romney’s name is the answer.
     Everybody has an opinion about what would be good and right for this country.  It is our job to examine everything and make a determination about what will clean the “water” or just make it dirtier.  And it doesn’t help that there is good and bad everywhere in everything.  If I pointed to the military or the cops, I could point out the good that exists there.  But others could point out the evil that resides there as well, and what’s more, they would be right.  I couldn’t refute it.  Like Mel Gibson, and Ricky Martin, and Walt Disney, and John Rich, and, well, everybody, there is both good and bad - in everything!  Sometimes you have to look at the ideal instead of the man, or the profession, or the country.
     And then what I choose to believe, what everybody chooses to believe, becomes just more noise to the political conversation.  There will be those who oppose my beliefs, and who have different ideas.  That’s part of what America is all about.  Yet is America becoming something we don’t recognize anymore?  Are we holding onto ideas and ideals that are changing America into a land we’re not familiar with; something it was never intended to be, or to become?  You see, America is now a place where your job is taken away and given to somebody in a foreign land because they can do it cheaper.  Or it is a place where your job can be taken away and given to somebody here, who came here illegally from a foreign land, and he doesn’t have to prove he is legal.  In fact, you have to pay for him to live here!
     America is a land where women can “get rid” of the “thing” inside them, and it’s okay, because we can call it a “health issue” or a “woman’s choice” or a “private decision” or even “termination of a fetus” rather than what it really is, which is the taking of an innocent life.  Oh, they will disguise it, and shroud it in murky waters.  They will bring up the medical emergencies, the few cases of rape and incest, or the myriad cases of child abuse and divorce that would seem to imply it would be better for these children if they were never born.  And once again, they have a point.  These are all things that must be taken into consideration.  But they are also all being used to excuse the death of blameless babies.  The water seems very murky in the national debate, but it is clear from my viewpoint!  The death of innocent babies is simply wrong, and cannot be justified by bringing up the problems that exist with abuse and adoption.
     Planned Parenthood is given too much respect, even from those within the Christian community.  It should be shut down pronto.  At the very least, it should not be government sponsored!  There is nothing that exists there that doesn’t also exist in other places, and a man or woman of God should not support it for the few things it manages to do that may be helpful.  Do you get it?  Satan works the same way, and we end up making exceptions and excuses because, gosh darn it, they are just so NEEDED for these other medical services they offer.  And so it will be supported by millions of Christians, and babies will continue to die, and those who stick up for the life of these babies will be ridiculed, even by those who should know better!
     Abortion is just one example, and God knows I’m not perfect.  Like everyone else, I make allowances where I perhaps shouldn’t make them.  And this path is not an easy one.  It should be traveled very carefully.
     More than anything else, I believe in God, and by that I mean Jesus, and by that I mean the Christian Jesus, who was and is a part of God, and therefore, God.  I put my trust in that, and in the Bible.  Yet, being a land of the free, people are allowed to believe whatever they want to believe, making me and my belief just one small voice in the grimy ocean of this nation.  My religion and my philosophy help to make things clear for me, but others, who believe very differently from me, could make the same case for their own religions or philosophies.  Mine is really no more certain than anyone else’s, and can be attacked in countless ways; and, of course, it has been, over and over and over again.  According to the bible, this is the way God Himself set it up, because He wanted believers, not a bunch of people who couldn’t refute Him or His existence.  He wanted people who made the choice for Him.  If He was irrefutable, then there would be no choice (though even if He were irrefutable, I still think people like Bill Maher and Sam Harris would continue to deny Him).
     Most of this nation may disagree with me, and even within the Christian community, there is division of thought.  Not only is there division documented in Hank Hanegraaff’s Counterfeit Revival, but it is seen in all the denominations and offshoots of Christianity, some of them bordering on cults - or being actual cults.  In many ways, there are as many beliefs in Christianity or religion as there are people on the earth.  Some of the things I do – I own the first season of Medium on DVD and think it’s one of the best written TV shows of the last decade – are not going to be embraced by other Christians, and some of the things they do – such as supporting Planned Parenthood – are detestable to me.  We’re all different.  But every man has to start somewhere, and have some sort of core values that they hold dear.  Mine has been for Jesus Christ as the Messiah and Savior for well over a decade now.  Before that, I was still a Christian, but not one who thought too deeply about matters of faith, and the Bible was that Holy Book that sat on a shelf, and Jesus was the Son of God, but I knew almost nothing else about Him, nor the controversy surrounding Him regarding the proof of His divinity.  I’m different now.  Now I know, and I am thoroughly embroiled in the arguments for and against Jesus and my religion and how it came about.  And I know, from all of this, that this nation, by and large, is not a friend to Jesus.  Oh, much of it is, among Christian communities, but as with the military and the police, there are bad influences and weak people here too.  It’s just one more thing to make the waters cloudy. 
     With all of this – everybody having the right to their own opinion – it makes it all the more difficult to find truth, and more than anything else, a person’s core values should rest on truth.  Truth becomes relative, and you’ll hear people say things like “The way I see truth is…”  That’s not really truth.  By the same token, how can we really know truth?  How can we know things for certain?  How do we know we are real flesh and blood, and that this planet and universe exist only as we can experience them with our senses?  How do we know that we can absolutely trust our senses?  These are things philosophers from the past dealt with, such as René Descartes and Immanuel Kant.  The way I look at it, how do we know we aren’t merely projections in a Holodeck like on Star Trek?  Can you prove to me we aren’t? 
     One truth I am discovering in all of this is that an attempt to be open-minded and fair to everyone, and allow everyone their opinion and their say, can wind up really making your head spin, just like that little girl from The Exorcist who was possessed by the devil, and once again, it’s not just a coincidence I used that particular allusion.
     And here, belief becomes all the more important.  I have the worldview I have because I am a Christian.  You have the worldview you have because of what you choose to believe, and believe in.  None of it is certain.  Yet one of the main reasons I follow the belief that I do choose to follow is out of a search for knowledge and wisdom.  Others can make the same claim, of course, but many of them don’t hold up in the light of day, and a person must judge what works and what doesn’t.  For instance, I have a friend who got a job as a waitress in a strip club, and she defended her decision.  It’s her life, and I’m sure a lot of people would come to her defense, and stand against me for having the old fashioned opinion I have regarding this “business”.  I think it’s sinful.  I’m sure there are some good people there, just as I’m sure there are good and bad people everywhere, but when taken as a whole, I think the sex and pornography business are a blight on this society.  I think they are not defendable, and I call into question the morals of anyone who would defend it.
     You can have your right to believe whatever you want to believe and to live any way you want to live, until this nation becomes a cesspool of sin and vice.  But if you have your right, that means I also have my rights, to believe that some things are wrong and sinful, or that the things some people hold dear are going a long way towards ruining this country.
     In conclusion, I believe that what this country really needs, if I can use the allusion to muddy water I started with, and more than anything else, including freedom, is a Britta water filter!  I don’t think we’ll get that with Obama.  In fact, in my view, we can only really get that with God.

Many men will drink the rain and turn and thank the clouds
Many men will hear You speak, they will never turn around

But I will not forget You are my God, my King / With a thankful heart I bring my offering
And my sacrifice is not what You can give / But what I alone can give to You

A grateful heart I give / A thankful prayer I pray / A wild dance I dance before You
A loud song I sing / A huge bell I ring / A life of praise I live before You

Many men will pour their gold and serve a thing that shines
Many men will read Your words, they will never change their minds

But I will not forget You are my God, my King / With a thankful heart I bring my offering
And my sacrifice is not what You can give / But what I alone can give to You

A grateful heart I give / A thankful prayer I pray / A wild dance I dance before You
A loud song I sing / A huge bell I ring / A life of praise I live before You…

I will not forget You…

            “I Will Not Forget You”
                 - The Praise Band, Wow Worship Orange

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Christmas This Year

I was going to start typing my old Christmas poems in here on Wednesdays for the yuletide season.  Then the election happened, causing half the country to be elated (over what, I'm still not sure) and the other half to be in a blue funk.  With this in mind, the first Christmas poem I'm typing is the one I wrote back in 1994, the year my Dad passed away.

I had a lot of issues with Dad, as I know we all did, but my feelings were real when I wrote this poem, which was actually on Christmas Day of 1994.  Mom was hurting so much, and I myself felt like Dad was starting to mellow a bit as time went on.  Besides, I had never experienced a death like that before.

Christmas This Year

by Gary Van Buren


The family is gathered, everyone is here
But it still doesn't seem like Christmas this year
I see smiling faces full of love and good cheer
But it still doesn't seem like Christmas this year

The air is chilled crisp, the sun still shines bright
And yet we all know that something's not right
The tree twinkles gently like angels in flight
And yet we all know that something's not right

When it's all done
When the songs have all been sung
We'll come to realize
There's still tears in our eyes
          Because you're not here

But we'll muddle through
Even though we still miss you
'Cause we know you've got wings
and you're with the King of Kings
          And we know, in spirit, you're near

Merry Christmas Dad!
(and please tell Jesus Happy Birthday!)

Sunday, November 4, 2012

If Obama wins, America Loses


     Apparently, some irresponsible Israeli’s were in the middle of making a film (actually, from what I saw, it was a very low budget YouTube video) with a negative bent towards the Muslim religion and their prophet Mohammed.  It sparked a lot of controversy and hatred among militant Muslims.  The Christian community’s reaction is mild by comparison when they belittle our faith and attack our Blessed Savior, but these Muslim extremists apparently wanted blood for this video, and a group of them, called Ansar el-Sharia, the same group that we apparently helped to wrestle control of Libya away from terrorist Muammar Gadaffi, attacked the US Embassy, sighting this video as the reason for the attack.  They stormed the Embassy, and killed four Americans:  Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens, diplomat Sean Smith, and former Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, who were trying to protect Stevens and Smith.
     Now, there are a myriad of questions behind these attacks:  What really happened, why did they really attack, and what was the response of Obama and the White House?  The White House, you see, shifted their story in the hours, days, and weeks since the attack, at first stating that the attack was in response to the anti-Muslim YouTube video, then retracting and calling it terrorism, it seems, only when pressured for answers. 
     In fact, there is irrefutable evidence that shows 1) It was a pre-planned attack that had nothing to do with the dumb video, 2) several emails and communications from Chris Stevens and the American Embassy in Libya to the White House before the attack made it clear the danger that was about to happen, 3) Military teams, which were ready and could have aided the Embassy, were ordered to “stand down”, leaving Woods and Doherty all alone, 4) the Obama administration covered it up, 5) they have been disrespectful to the slain and those who are questioning them, including bold-faced lies during the debates, and 6) the mainstream media is not uncovering any of it, and we are left to our own sources on the internet, conservative talk radio, or Fox News to discover exactly what happened and Obama’s role in it all.
     During the debates, while my liberal friends are saying they either didn’t watch it or they think both sides are just as bad since they are all politicians (yet they, of course, are still going to vote for Obama), what I saw was Romney and Ryan ATTEMPTING to be polite, but being forced into more of a confrontation by both Obama and Biden.
During the vice presidential debate, while Ryan was cool, calm, controlled, collected, and congenial, Biden was demeaning, dismissive, derisive, divisive, and disrespectful, behavior that my brother assures me, using his daughter’s debate team directives, would have lost him the debate, yet the liberal democrats are heaping praises upon him for such behavior!  And the liberal moderators haven’t been any help either, attacking the republican candidates and coddling the democrats.  When the issue of Benghazi was brought up during the second debate, and Romney questioned the president’s reaction to it, Obama smugly deferred to liberal moderator Candy Crowley, who informed Governor Romney that Obama in fact did use the term “act of terror” within days of the Libya attack. So what is her explanation for the Obama administration even mentioning that dumb red herring video, or ignoring the emails and communications sent to them, warning them about the impending attack?  For that matter, what is the President’s answer?  The attack lasted for seven hours, and though some Libyans did attempt to help, where were our troops?  Not ordered to go in and save the American Ambassador to Libya and diplomat Sean Smith, who was reduced to communicating messages for help through a gambling website!  In fact, the two former Navy SEALs were ordered to “Stand Down”.  In the days following, during a Daily Show taping, Obama said the situation “is not optimal”, drawing the ire of Sean Smith’s mother, who accused the White House of telling outright lies about what really happened in Benghazi.  “My son is NOT very optimal,” she retorted, “He is very dead.”
     Then Charles Woods, the father of slain State Department official Tyrone Woods, said on the Glen Beck program that during his son’s memorial service, about a half hour after introducing himself, Vice President Joe Biden, in what he described as “an extremely loud and boisterous voice,” asked him “Did your son always have balls the size of cue balls?”  And this is who they want to vote for over Romney and Ryan?
     Mark my words!  If they get a second term, we are in serious trouble!

     It sickens me to know that Obama has an actual chance to become President again for a second term even after his piss-poor performance over the last four years, his deceptive stimulus bill and Obamacare, and his lies about Benghazi, and the liberals that I know – both those who admit to being liberal, and the ones who don’t even know what they are, are just so brainwashed, I can’t talk sense into any of them.  None of us can, despite repeated attempts.  Multiply that by a country, and perhaps we deserve to fall.  George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Moore, John Adams – none of them would recognize this country.  We can even go more recent if you like.  Martin Luther King Jr. and Ronald Reagan wouldn’t recognize it either.  In some sense, they may like a few of the things that they would see, such as “little black boys and girls holding hands with little white boys and girls,” but I think that, for the most part, they would be appalled!  
For instance, I’m all for a color blind way of looking at society and people, such as in the lyrics to “Colored People” by dc Talk:  “A piece of canvas is only the beginning for it / Takes on character with every loving stroke / This thing of beauty is the passion of an Artist’s touch / By God’s design, we are a skin kaleidoscope!”  That paints a warm, colorful, desirable picture of the way things ought to be (and the way things are these days, for the most part – otherwise, we wouldn’t have a black President, and I wouldn’t have such admiration for people like Dinesh D’Souza).  Then compare all of that with the creepy new video in which a bunch of indoctrinated Stepford Children, reminiscent of the Nazi youth, the Children of the Corn, and the Village of the Damned, sing liberal propaganda in support of Obama:  “We’re the children of the future / American through and through / But something happened to our country / And we’re kinda blaming you.”  As if those lyrics aren’t bad enough, check this out:  “We haven’t killed all the polar bears / but it’s not for lack of trying / Big Bird is sacked / The earth is cracked / And the atmosphere is frying / Congress went home early / They did their best we know / You can’t cut spending / With elections pending / Unless it’s welfare dough”.  Is this our future?  Programmed political puppets for the left?  With the obvious backlash, it is now difficult to actually even find the video, but check out here and here.
Not that the liberals would even care.  They have their agenda, and they don’t respect the founding fathers anyway, and although they do respect MLK, they don’t want anyone to actually know he was a devout Christian!  They love to tout any flaw they might find in any of the founding fathers, and seem to derive particular glee in noting Jefferson’s dalliances with his slaves, his dabbling in deism, and Adams’ abrasive personality, all while championing Obama’s and Biden’s boorish, sarcastic and flippant behavior during the debates, or at the very least point out, falsely, that Romney and Ryan are acting the same way.  That’s just not true, and regardless, this behavior from the left is a far cry from Obama’s “Hope and Change” platform from four years ago.  But again, the left could care less!
     Why is it that when someone intelligent comes along (not someone like Michael Moore, but someone who actually has a brain in their head and isn’t just a mouthpiece for their cherished leader) such as Dinesh D’Souza, and spells out the trouble we are in by allowing someone like Barak Obama to lead us, and then lead us again, without taking serious the accusations that are leveled against him, using evidence provided through his own background, his own words, his own books The Audacity of Hope and Dreams From my Father, and his own record!  Why don’t people care?
     I can see that the freedom allowed our citizens to believe whatever they want to believe, and live whatever way they want to live, and to follow whoever they want to follow, is not good for us, and is tearing us apart.  We need healing, or we need to be torn apart.  What they choose to follow may seem, on the surface, to be the right thing to do.  Why can’t they see that it is wrong, even when it is blatantly pointed out to them?
     I just need to keep remembering that God is the focus, and hope that He helps us out of this mess, if it is His will.  And if not, then I pray that God is with us in the troubling times to come.  I am scared for our future.  I am scared for my future as an individual.  I am scared for our future as a nation.  Even if Romney and Ryan win, and I do so want them to win, and they can go a long way towards healing this country, this nation will still be divided.  Religion and politics are one of the biggest hurdles to overcome for people to stay civilized or remain friends.            
     God, heal this nation, or help me to rise above so that I don’t end up sinking into the abyss along with the sinners of America, who love their freedom to commit sin - or redefine sin - or not recognize it as sin - more than they love You.
     Sometimes I feel like I need to fast from life.  Like the men at the end of The Stand, who are sent out on foot to Las Vegas with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, I feel I need to unplug and figure out what is really important and what is really real.  Sometimes, I wonder if that is what God wanted of me when I went through my jobless struggle in the wilderness.  It just seems these days that everything gets so jumbled, especially experiencing this year’s Presidential race through the prism of the internet and Facebook.  I need to be cleaned out and find that one direction amid all this noise.  God is the only One who can really make sense of it all.