We Are So Blessed

This time of year always increases our thinking about personal thanksgiving. In years when a person has had a lot of great things happen, it is easy to be thankful. In years when things haven't gone too well, it takes a lot more effort. In fact, in those lean years, it is easy to dwell on all the difficult stuff, and willfully abstain from giving thanks for the many blessings that grace our lives. For me, and my immediate family, this is our second Thanksgiving season in a row where circumstances are far less favorable than they have been in the past. As I have been thinking about thanksgiving, the idea of a line graph came to mind. At the left, bottom end would be the worst off person in the world. At the top right would be the best off person in the world. Where would I rank in this graph?

Almost immediately I thought of the poorest of the poor, the child that dies every 4 seconds, children who do not live past infancy or early childhood. The silent killers are poverty, hunger, easily preventable diseases and illnesses, and other related causes. 21,000 a day who are the poorest of the poor. I thought about the young mother in our church who just found out that her cancer has spread, and will probably take her life without a miracle from God. A young mother who has children to finish raising, who deserves to enjoy her future grandchildren. This week I observed, again, an older Tucson resident pushing all her belongings in a shopping cart, along a street that probably leads to nowhere for this poor lady. I have never had to deal with anything like this...

So where do I fit on this imaginary line graph. Pretty close to the top. As I pray for my extended family each day, I thank God for his tremendous blessings to us all. All of us are in good health, living relatively comfortable lives with a sturdy roof over our heads and plenty to eat. God has blessed Kathy and I with wonderful children, great spouses for our married children, and some of the best grand-kids in the world. As I think about it, the only area that has been very difficult, in the past 17 months, actually disastrous, has been financial. It will take some time, but God will help us recover in this area. His promises are true, and Kathy and I are standing on them.

We are blessed, no doubt about it, we are blessed. Thanksgiving is happy, because we are blessed. Have a happy Thanksgiving, as you thank God for your blessings and for placing you near the top of my graph.

Why I Voted for A Change In Leadership Today

Today I voted for a change in leadership. As I have looked back over the past four years, considered the state of our country and my own personal family's situation, I came to the conclusion that the President has not convinced me that the next four years will be any different than the last four years. Consider just these few facts:

 A gallon of regular gasoline the day President Obama was inaugurated was $1.79 on average in the U.S. Today that price is $3.59, a 100.6% increase. The number of food stamp recipients has risen since President Obama took office from 31,983,716 to 43,200,878, a 35.1% jump. Long term unemployment soared 146.2% during the same 32 month period from 2,600,000 to 6,400,000. American citizens living in poverty have risen 9.5% from 39,800,000 to 43,600,000, and the number of unemployed has jumped almost 25% from 11,616,000 to 14,485,000 as of August 31, 2011. The number of unemployed blacks has risen from 12.6% at the end of George Bush’s term to 15.8% today, a 25.4% increase, and finally, our national debt is up 34.4% from 10.627 trillion to 16,278 trillion. I am not an economist, but even I know that the U.S. cannot sustain this level of debt indefinitely. 

There are many more areas I could write about, but I want to keep this short. My own experience in these past four years has been 14 months of unemployment and under-employment. Because the church I worked for is exempt from paying into the unemployment insurance fund, my family had no "safety net" during those 14 months. In spite of that, we did not seek any governmental assistance. I am presently stuck with a house I can't sell because the real estate market is still incredibly depressed, and we're going "into the hole" by $1,500 a month, paying for a mortgage and keeping the utilities on so our house can be shown for sale, while maintaining another household in the new state we are living in. While I am incredibly thankful for the full time job I have, my salary is 23% lower, because most companies have hundreds of applicants for most jobs, and therefore, pay and benefits can be reduced.

I know that our trust cannot be in man, and the Scriptures admonish me to pray for our leaders, regardless of their political affiliations. However, presented with a clear choice, I made my choice. I will pray for whomever is elected, and trust God for better days ahead.