The Art of Political War for TEA Parties

A specter is haunting America – the specter of a people rising. All across the nation Americans are waking up to the threat of a leftist elite determined to fundamentally change America, push through a socialist agenda, and make every citizen dependent on the state. The Obama machine is spending trillions of tax-payer dollars to finance their takeover of the American workplace and stifle the independence of the American people. But America is resilient nation, built on the principles of private property and individual freedom, and the resistance to their socialist plans has already begun.

In May 2009, just five months into the Obama administration, the people of California launched a tax revolt in the biggest spending state in the nation. So reckless were the leftist Democrats who run California (and have done so for as long as anyone can remember) that its deficit alone was larger than the budgets of most other states in the Union and of many of the nations of the world. Leftwing politicians don’t cut budgets; they propose new taxes. And California’s leftwing legislature did just that. But thanks to a constitutional amendment put in place by the California electorate through the state Initiative process, California legislators can’t raise taxes without a two-thirds referendum of the people. So they were forced to hold a special election in May to appeal to the electorate to pass five new ballot Initiatives to raise taxes.

But when the votes were counted, all five tax-raising Initiatives had been defeated by 60% margins. Even in San Francisco. A sixth Initiative designed by tax opponents to punish legislators who do not balance the budget passed by a more than 70% margin. Even in San Francisco. If one of the most liberal states in the Union is saying no to the soak-the-public philosophy of leftwing legislators, Obama socialism is in big trouble.

The revolt in California quickly spread to the entire nation through the efforts of the Tea Parties movement, the most innovative, exciting and powerful grassroots force in the history of American conservatism. It is vital to the health of this country that the Tea Parties movement grow. More to the point: it is essential to American survival that the Tea Parties movement succeed. On the eve of the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama said “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming America.” The Tea Parties movement is the American people saying no to Obama’s plans for revolution.

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A movement without an effective strategy for defeating its opponents cannot succeed. Therefore it is important to reacquaint ourselves with the art of political war.

While Democrats are morally bankrupt and clueless about policy – about what makes things work — they still win elections because they understand a simple fact: American politics is driven by the romance of the underdog, the story of the little guy who goes up against the system and triumphs in the end. It is a story about opportunity and fairness. To win the hearts and minds of the American voter, you have to tap the emotions the romance of the underdog evokes. Whoever does so has a winning edge.

America’s heroes are all cut to this common mold. Whether it is George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Davy Crockett, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Amelia Earhart, Jackie Robinson, Ronald Reagan or Colin Powell, the theme is always the same: The common man who rises against the odds. America’s political romance is “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington” to make things right. It is “Meet John Doe” who speaks for the voiceless. It is Luke Skywalker who saves the planet by using the good side of the Force to defeat the Empire. It is the odyssey of individuals who challenge power, overcome adversity and rise to the top. Everyone in America thinks of themselves as an underdog and aspires to be a hero.

The cause of the underdog wins American hearts because it resonates with our deepest religious and moral convictions of doing good and helping others. And because it is America’s own story. We began as a small nation, standing up to the world’s most powerful empire. We dedicated ourselves to the idea that all men are created equal. We are a nation of immigrants and a generous people who arrived with nothing and made fortunes in a new world. This is the American Dream.

It’s a story that will get you every time. But at election time, it’s the political left and the Democratic Party who know how to wield it as a political weapon, and Republicans and conservatives generally who don’t. Of course the Tea Parties have changed all that. And that is another sign that we are in an extraordinary political moment. The Tea Parties draw on the heritage of America’s own revolution as an underdog nation and are the voice of the people, oppressed now by their own government which is out of control and determined to crush them.

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In positioning themselves as champions of the under-represented, neglected and oppressed, leftists employ a version of America’s story that they have manufactured through their grip on the media and the academic culture. They have transformed America’s story from an epic of freedom into a tale of racism, exploitation and domination. In their telling, American history is no longer a narrative of expanding opportunity, of men and women succeeding against the odds. Instead, it is a Marxist Morality Play about the powerful and their victims.

In staging their political dramas, progressives invariably claim to speak in the name of America’s alleged “victims.” Every policy of the Democratic Party is presented as a program to help these “victims”—women, children, minorities and the poor. Simultaneously, Democrats describe Republican policies as programs that will injure the weak, ignore the vulnerable, and keep the powerless down.

Republicans play right into the Democrats’ trap because they approach politics as a problem of management. To Republicans, every issue is a management issue—the utility of a tax cut, the efficiency of a program, the optimal method for running an enterprise. Republicans talk like businessmen who want a chance to manage the country so that it will turn a profit.

There is nothing wrong with instituting good policies and running things efficiently or turning a profit. But while Republicans are performing these Gold Star activities, Democrats are engaged in a different kind of drama. They are busy attacking Republicans as servants of the rich, oppressors of the weak and defenders of the strong. And enemies of “the people.”

Listen to Mario Cuomo describing Republicans to the Democrats’ 1996 National Convention:

We need to work as we have never done before between now and November 5th to take the Congress back from Newt Gingrich and the Republicans, because ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, the Republicans are the real threat. They are the real threat to our women. They are the real threat to our children. They are the real threat to clean water, clean air and the rich landscape of America.

Mario Cuomo knows the language of political war.

Democrats connect emotionally with people’s fears and concerns. The appeal to help the underdog and defend the victim resonates with all Americans. This is because Americans are a fair-minded people. Most successful Americans came from humble origins themselves. They want to help others. They want everyone to have the chance to succeed.

So do Republicans and conservatives. But they rarely connect their policies and principles to this political romance.

There’s a good reason for this. Conservatives are busy defending the real America against the left’s attacks and the anti-American caricature they have constructed. Conservatives know that America is still a land of opportunity and freedom, and that nobody in America is really “oppressed.” (Otherwise, why would poor, black, Hispanic and Asian minorities be desperately seeking to come here? Why wouldn’t they be leaving instead?)

But politics isn’t just about reality. If it were, good principles and good policies would win every time. It’s about images and symbols, and the emotions they evoke. This is a battle that conservatives generally lose.

In the romance of the victim, as progressives stage it, Republicans and conservatives are always on the side of the bad guys—the powerful, the male, the white and the wealthy. It’s easy to see how patriotism plays into this trap. Defending America is readily mis-represented as an attitude that says: “I’m all right Jack, so you should be too.” The left relishes the opportunity to smear patriots as members of the selfish party instead of as defenders of individual freedom.

Ann Coulter has described the motto of the left as this: “Speak loudly and carry a small victim.” For the Democrats, the romance of the victim stirs the souls of their supporters and energizes their base. Equally important, it provides the nuclear warhead of their political attack. Conservatives are targeted victimizers, and leftists as the champions of the oppressed. Learning how to turn this around will turn around the political war as well.

Going On The Attack

Fortunately, conservatives can use the left-wing attack against them. Contrary to the left’s view, America is not a land of victims. It is a highly mobile society, with a citizenry that aspires upwards through the system, not against it.

Conservatives can also turn the left’s oppression myth around, and aim its guns at them. In fact, using the romance of the underdog against the left is the best way to neutralize their attack.

The way to do it is to recognize that the most powerful forces obstructing opportunity for poor and minority Americans, the most powerful forces oppressing them, are progressives, the Democratic Party, and their political creation—the welfare state.

There is really nothing new in this idea. Conservatives already oppose the programs of the left as obstacles to the production of wealth and barriers to opportunity for all Americans. What is new is the idea of connecting this analysis to a political strategy that will give conservatives a decisive edge in battle—that will neutralize the class, race and gender warfare attacks of the political left.

The Principles

Here are the principles of political war that the left understands but conservatives do not:

1. Politics is war conducted by other means

2. Politics is a war of position

3. In political wars the aggressor usually prevails

4. Position is defined by fear and hope

5. The weapons of politics are symbols evoking fear and hope

6. Victory lies on the side of the people

Here are the principles explained:

• Politics is war conducted by other means.

In political warfare you do not fight just to prevail in an argument, but to destroy the enemy’s fighting ability. Conservatives often seem to regard political combats as they would a debate before the Oxford Political Union, as though winning depends on rational arguments and carefully articulated principles. But the audience of politics is not made up of Oxford dons, and the rules are entirely different.

For starters, you have only 30 seconds to make your point. Even if you had time to develop an argument, the audience you need to reach (the undecided and those in the middle who are not paying much attention) wouldn’t get it. Your words would go over some of their heads and the rest would not even hear them (or be quickly forgotten) amidst the bustle and pressure of daily life. Worse, while you’ve been making your argument the other side has already painted you as a mean-spirited, border-line racist controlled by religious zealots, securely in the pockets of the rich. Nobody who sees you this way is going to listen to you in any case. You’re politically dead.

Politics is war. Don’t forget it.

• Politics is a war of position.

In war there are two sides: friends and enemies. Your task is to define yourself as the friend of as large a constituency compatible with your principles as possible, while defining your opponent as their enemy wherever and whenever you can. The act of defining combatants is analogous to the military concept of choosing the terrain of battle.

Choose the terrain that makes the fight as loaded in your favor as possible. But be careful. American politics takes place in a pluralistic framework, where constituencies are diverse and often in conflict. “Fairness” and “tolerance” are the formal rules of democratic engagement. If you appear mean-spirited, nasty, or too judgmental, it will make the task easier for your opponent to define you as a threat, and therefore as “the enemy.” (See principle 4)

• In political warfare, the aggressor usually prevails.

Conservatives often pursue a strategy of waiting for the other side to attack. In football this is known as a “prevent defense.” In politics it is the strategy of losers.

Aggression is advantageous because politics is a war of position. Position is defined by images that stick. By striking first you can define the issues and your adversary. Defining the opposition is the decisive move in all political war. Other things being equal, whoever is put on the defensive generally winds up on the losing side.

In attacking your opponent, take care to do it right. Going negative increases the risk of being defined as an enemy. Therefore, it can be counter-productive. Ruling out the negative, however, can incur an even greater risk.

• Position is defined by fear and hope.

The twin emotions of politics are fear and hope. Those who provide people with hope become their friends; those who inspire fear become enemies. Of the two, hope is the better choice. By offering people hope and yourself as its provider, you show your better side and maximize your potential support.

But fear is a powerful and indispensable weapon. If your opponent defines you negatively enough, he will diminish your ability to offer hope. This is why Democrats are so determined to portray conservatives as mean-spirited, and hostile to minorities, the middle class and the poor.

It is important to work away from the negative images your opponent wants to pin on you. If you know you are going to be attacked as intolerant and bigoted it’s a good idea to lead with a position that is inclusive and fair-minded. If you are going to be framed as mean-spirited and ungenerous, it’s a good idea to put on a smile and lead with symbols that project generosity and charity.

• The weapons of politics are symbols evoking fear and hope.

Conservatives lose a lot of political battles because they come across as hard-edged, scolding, scowling and sanctimonious. A good rule of thumb says be just the opposite. You have to convince people you care about them before they’ll care about what you have to say.

When you do get to speak, don’t forget that a sound-bite is all you have. Whatever you have to say, make sure to say it loud and clear. Keep it simple and keep it short. (A slogan is always better). Repeat it often. Get it on television. Radio is good, but with few exceptions, only television reaches a public that is electorally significant. In politics, television is reality.

Of course, you have a base of supporters who will listen for hours to what you have to say if that’s what you want. In the battles facing you, they will play an important role. Therefore, what you say to them is also important. But it is not going to decide elections. The audiences that will determine your fate are audiences that you will first have to persuade. You will have to find a way to reach them and get them to listen. And get them to support you. With these audiences, you will never have time for real arguments or proper analyses. Images—symbols and sound-bites—will always prevail.

Therefore it is absolutely essential to focus your message and repeat it over and over again. Lack of focus will derail your message. If you make too many points, your message will be diffused and nothing will get through. The result will be the same as if you had made no point at all.

Leftists have a party line. When they are fighting an issue they focus their agenda. During legislative battles, every time a Democrat steps in front of the cameras there is at least one line in his speech that is shared with his colleagues. “Tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of the poor,” is one example. Repetition insures that the message will get through.

When Republicans speak during legislative battles, they all march to a different drummer. There are many messages instead of one. One message is a sound-bite. Many messages are an indecipherable noise. The result of many messages is that there is no message.

Symbols and sound-bites determine the vote. These are what hit people in the gut before they have time to think. And these are what people remember. Symbols are the impressions that last, and what ultimately defines you.

Carefully chosen words and phrases are more important than paragraphs, speeches, party platforms and manifestos. What you project through images is what you are.

• Victory lies on the side of the people.

This is the bottom line for each of the principles and for all of the principles. You must define yourself in ways that people understand. You must give people hope in your victory, and make them fear the victory of your opponent. You can accomplish both by identifying yourself and your issues with the underdog and the victim, with minorities and the disadvantaged, with the ordinary Janes and Joes.

This is what leftists do best, and conservatives often neglect to do at all. Every political statement by a leftist is an effort to say: “We care about women, children, minorities, working Americans and the poor.” And: “Conservatives are mean-spirited, serve the rich and don’t care about you.” This is the left’s strategy of political war. If conservatives are to win the political war we have to turn these images around.

We also have to make our campaigns a cause. During the Cold War, conservatives had a cause. They were saving the country from Communism. It was a cause that resonated at every level with the American people. The poorest citizen understood that their freedom was at stake in making sure that conservatives were elected to conduct the nation’s defense.

In a democracy, the cause that fires up passions is the cause of the people. That is why politicians like to run “against Washington” and against anything that represents the “powers that be.” As the left has shown, the idea of justice is a powerful motivator. It will energize the troops and fuel the campaigns that are necessary to win the political war. Conservatives believe in economic opportunity and individual freedom. The core of our ideas is freedom and justice for all. If we can make this intelligible to the American electorate, we will become the majority again and stop the socialist juggernaut that threatens our American future.

http://frontpagemag.com/2009/12/01/the-art-of-political-war-for-tea-parties-by-david-horowitz/David Horowitz was one of the founders of the New Left in the 1960s and an editor of its largest magazine, Ramparts. He is the author, with Peter Collier, of three best selling dynastic biographies: The Rockefellers: An American Dynasty (1976); The Kennedys: An American Dream (1984); and The Fords: An American Epic (1987). Looking back in anger at their days in the New Left, he and Collier wrote Destructive Generation (1989), a chronicle of their second thoughts about the 60s that has been compared to Whittaker Chambers’ Witness and other classic works documenting a break from totalitarianism. Horowitz examined this subject more closely in Radical Son (1996), a memoir tracing his odyssey from “red-diaper baby” to conservative activist that George Gilder described as “the first great autobiography of his generation.”

[Via http://konateaparty.wordpress.com]

Seek truth, and pursue it steadily

George Washington gives us today’s quote and it’s fun to quote our first President: “Associate yourself with men of good quality, if you esteem your reputation. Be not apt to relate news, if you know not the truth thereof. Speak no evil of the absent, for it is unjust. Undertake not what you cannot perform, but be careful to keep your promise. There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth, and pursue it steadily. Nothing but harmony, honesty, industry and frugality are necessary to make us a great and happy nation.”

This is true now more than ever! Look at these words again: harmony, honest, industry and frugality are necessary to make us a great and happy nation – and I would say at all levels of humanity!

Another great truth quote from another of our American presidents, Harry S. Truman who said, “I don’t give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it is hell.” Fun and funny!

And of course, here is today’s People Skills Video Tip:

The Daily Social Dose is short and easy to digest.
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Blessings,

& The Schuh Crew

Shawna Schuh, CSP

Helping Sales Professionals, Executives, and Service Teams profit through advanced people skills.

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www.ShawnaSchuh.com | www.CYUY.com

[Via http://cyuy.wordpress.com]

Breakfast in Bed

It seems nearly impossible to qualify nutrition and reproduction in relation to each other, so let’s try.

Which has a higher quality, food or sex?

Nutrition

The inherent, involuntary need to feed ourselves has led us into many dark areas in our history. More importantly, it has led to our general tribal formation and our racial identities. Some argue that, in the absence of the chase for food, we might possibly have had peace on Earth. This seems far fetched, but it does bring to light some fascinating ideas and issues.

Where there is an unnecessary abundance of food due to the hunting/scavenging of said food and its storage by one tribe, there is an equal and opposite lack of it in another. This, in turn, causes a desire by the famished tribe to undo this injustice and balance the scales. Of course, once the  scales have been balanced, there is no reason for the newly fed tribe to stop there, and a war may continue until the scales are opposite what they had been. Later, the cycle will repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat until we stand where we are today: many tribes, little food.

Food explains other interesting facets of our daily lives. For example, ever notice that men are more communal with their brothers and women more independent with their sisters. Consider that men hunted together. They depended on each other during the hunt or battle and learned to appreciate each other on a very close level. Brotherly love kept platoons fighting and hunting groups on course. The men who assuaged the most and those that led the best were the ones who survived. Their social prowess became almost as important as their physical power.

Opposite this, women fought each other for the food that was returned by the men to the cave. The more independent, uncaring, and cold a women was able to be in face of her sisters, prioritizing her own family above all else, the higher her chances of survival were. More importantly the higher chances her family had of surviving, those same traits being passed on and on. This can explain the general vindictivness women have over men. Ironically, men are considered the colder of the genders, but, in reality, this is never so. Especially not towards members of their own gender.

For a much more thorough investigation of food and its effects on mankind, please read The Story of B (or Ishmael or My Ishamel, though having only the read the first, I only vie for it) by Daniel Quinn.

[Via http://dgideon.wordpress.com]

Change has been on my mind

I am thinking out loud. Ever since I moved here I have been pondering what direction I would like my life to go. I’m not sure what the answer is.

What I like: Adirondacks, a shelter from the elements, a place to exist, garden, food storage, more money coming in

What I don’t like: small LDS branch, health care, living inside, apartment dramas, not traveling

Sometimes my life seems too monotone. The bulk of my time is spent in my bedroom….either sitting in my favorite chair or in bed. That gets too comfortable, too boring. I have spent the last year building up material security. I do not have to worry about where my next meal is coming from. I have clothes for the seasons. I have a fixed address so I can access health care and benefits. OK…so why am I so restless? Why am I getting that itch to do something different?

Part of my problem is that I like challenges. I like having something new to learn or to overcome. Once I get good at a skill, it’s not much fun any more. Whenever I felt like I knew how to do most of a job or a craft or whatever, I was ready to do something else. Homesteading and farming had the ability to engage me for years as there were sooooo many things to learn and do.

I’m REALLY tired of being sick. If there were one thing I would like to walk away from and never look back, it would be physical sickness.

I feel like I need to be more involved with people and places. My biggest gateway to the world is my computer. This laptop is getting old. The keyboard markings are starting to rub off. What will happen to me when the laptop dies? I will be alone in my room.

Somehow I need to throw off the old me and find a new skin….like a hermit crab.

The biggest hole in my life is living apart from my daughter. I miss her. She left three messages on the answering machine this week and I have not called back. I desperately want to talk to her…but not on the phone. I hate telephones.

Sigh….I am a spoiled brat….I don’t know what I want, I just know I need some change….

 

 

[Via http://wendyusuallywanders.wordpress.com]

Division in the Church

Why is the professing Body of Christ seemingly so divided, and who or what is causing it?

After all, we all claim to be following the Holy Spirit. That should give all sides something very serious to think about. We can’t all believe different things and still all be right.

According to the Scriptures, here are 3 things that cause division in the professing Church:

1) False teachers allowed to remain in the professing Church

Any time a teacher leaves the Truth, he is sowing division.

Romans 16:17-18 “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.” It is very important to keep in the “teaching we have learned.” That is, the doctrine of Christ and His apostles found in the Bible (not the doctrine taught in a church building or seminary. This is an important distinction.) Those who leave the teaching of Christ and His apostles and teach some other wind of doctrine, or doctrine of demons, are serving themselves and dividing the Body of Christ. 2 Peter 2:1-3 “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” The “way of Truth” will fall into disrepute because of these false teachers whom “many will follow.” The phrase “denying the sovereign Lord who bought them” suggests that these teachers were walking in Truth at one time, but have left the right way and are now taking others with them. Those who follow these blind guides have stopped following Jesus, the only Way of salvation. Because they are deceived, they will claim they are still following God, to the shock and dismay of those who have remained faithful to Jesus. Now two opposing groups will claim to be serving Jesus and following the same Spirit. Thus division is created in the professing Body of Christ by false teachers and those who follow them. Jude 18-19 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. 2) Siding with the Truth (or not)

Jesus, who is the Truth, said He came to bring division that would even tear families apart.

Luke 12:51-53 “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” Those who side with satan, “the god of this world,” will naturally despise those who side with Christ—the One who testifies that the world’s deeds are evil (John 7:7). A natural division occurs between light and darkness, Christ and Belial, righteousness and wickedness, and the temple of God and idols. (2 Cor. 6:14-16) John 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Jesus is called the “Word made Flesh.” The Word of God is even said to divide. Heb.4:12 “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Those who subject themselves to the Word of God will become divided from those who do not. (John 7:43, John 9:16, John 10:19)

In the world (and professing church) as it presently stands, there are wheat and tares growing up together. (Matt. 13:24-30) The wheat CAN BE distinguished from the tares by the servants of God. But they are allowed to co-exist until the time of harvest, when the “reapers” will permanently separate them. The Lord knows those who are His (2 Tim. 2:19).

3) Testing

Believers are tested by heresies, to see if they will remain in the doctrine of Christ or not. This testing causes division between those who are approved by God, and those who are not.

I Cor. 11:18-19 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it. For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. It is also important to realize that we are to study to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen that need not to be ashamed because we rightly divide the Word of Truth! (2 Tim. 2:15) It is very important to abide in correct doctrine—so important that even salvation is at stake! I John 2:24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father.
2 John 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. Paul cursed those who taught any gospel other than what had already been taught. (Gal.1:6-9) Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. (2 John 9-10) We will be tested by heresies, just as Eve was tempted in the garden of Eden. Eve fell because she believed the words of a deceiver (she believed false doctrine) that questioned WHAT GOD HAD ALREADY SAID. Satan promised Eve an experience that she couldn’t pass up. The Holy Spirit will NEVER contradict the Bible, which He authored. The Scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation, and thoroughly equip us to live holy lives abounding in good works (2 Tim.3:15-17).

So what about unity?

Didn’t Jesus pray that His disciples would be one? (John 17:17) Yes, and His true disciples ARE ONE. They abide in His teaching, and His Word abides in them. They together abide in Christ, and they stand together against the false teachings that are threatening the flock. (Titus 1:9, Romans 16:17, Jude 3, 2 Cor. 6:17)

The disciples of Christ are denying themselves and carrying crosses, dying to this life and loving not this world nor the things in this world. Because their focus is on Jesus Christ alone, and they are not carried away by every wind of doctrine, they are united—even though they may not even know each other. They are satisfied with their daily bread, trusting that man shall indeed live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. They are not divided because of skin color or nationality. They are not divided due to wealth/poverty, or station in life. They are people of peace and they love one another. They do not take advantage of one another, or lord it over one another. They do not lie to one another, and they do not elevate themselves over one another—rather the greatest among them is the servant of all.

These love God with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strength; and they love their neighbors as themselves. They help the weak and gullible by rescuing them from the mouths of wolves. They often do this by exposing false teaching and false teachers, which unfortunately earns them a reputation for being “divisive.” God bless you.

[Via http://israeliteindeed.wordpress.com]

Ah...How Sweet It Is

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! Hope you’re prepared for a wonderful holiday tomorrow. I am…ready to enjoy some turkey, stuffing, mac and cheese…and other yummy stuff with my family. Going to be a small group tomorrow. Just six of us. Usually there’s more like 10-20 depending on which uncles, aunts and cousins show but kind of all scattered around this year. Of course sometimes smaller is better. And I’m sure we’ll enjoy the eats and the company.

So, today I was feeling a bit better (thank you God) and decided to try and run today. I was still pretty congested so wasn’t sure how it would go but was determined to at least TRY. I’ve been itching for a run since…Saturday.

Funny…it wasn’t so long ago that I looked for excuses to NOT go run. Being unable to breathe through my nose would have more than qualified…but not now. Now I try to find reasons to go run and get frustrated when I miss a run – even if I have a good excuse. Guess that’s a good thing.

Started out with my usual 5-minute warm-up. No problems. Started running…but started off easy. After 5 minutes I was feeling pretty good. Started thinking about the race tomorrow, the half-marathon in two weeks…visualizing the start and crossing the finish line.  Realized I was running faster…still feeling good.  As I approached the half-way mark I was starting to feel it…and could tell I hadn’t ran in a week. 

I took my two-minute walk break at half-way (it was needed and appreciated) and then hit it again. When I reached the last 5-minutes I was struggling a little bit but pushed through and finished strong.  With warm-up and cool-down…4 miles in 50 minutes.  That was SWEET!  It was a really GREAT run.  I’m looking forward to the race in the morning… I’m looking forward to 12 miles on Saturday…although my internal chatterbox is rattling off about how hard it’s going to be…how my last long run (of any significant distance) was a few weeks ago, I’m not ready, I can’t do it…blah, blah, blah.  But you know what…that’s just talk and talk is cheap.

I’m learning that my little internal chatterbox (I need to come up with a name for it) is repeating what others have said in my past.  And they lied…and I used to believe the lies but now I know the truth.  I know that I CAN do it…I AM good enough…I will NOT fail.  Nope…don’t believe the chatterbox anymore.  Just lies…and there is a high price to pay for believing those lies.  I know…I’ve been paying it for a long time…but not anymore.  So, you stupid, lying chatterbox…you can just SHUT THE HELL UP!!  I’ll rock it tomorrow…I’ll knock it out of the park on Saturday…and I’m going to OWN that 13.1 miles in Kiawah in 2 weeks…you watch me…and before all is said and done I will replace you with the TRUTH…

And I’m really looking forward to that day. I suspect it is just around the corner. I am already beginning to feel the shift back to who I really am…and I am becoming who I am meant to be… Glad you’re coming along for the ride…it’s going to be a good one. Until next time, I hope you are well and that your internal chatterbox is telling you the truth…YOU CAN DO IT!!

[Via http://wildfire16to80.wordpress.com]

all is not as it should be

 I sometimes get the sneaky suspicion that all is not as it should be in my life.  I think a lot of this comes from an unsettling disappointment I have about myself.  Some of this disappointment is neurotic.  Like when I want to impress someone with my intelligence and my words come out all jumbled up or I stutter. 

 

Some of my disappointment is silly.  I would love to always look like I just finished up with a GQ photo shoot, looking very charming and debonair. 

 

Then there’s the deeper disappointment that I have a real tuff time with.  When I look at my two sons as they play outside on their bikes and I think of the kind of father I want to be for them.  I want to make lasting impression on them, so that when they look back on their childhood and they can remember a childhood that came straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting.  I want to make believe with them, making all their dreams come to life.  I want to catch lighting bugs with them in the hot summer nights.  I want to take long bike rides with them. 

 

I look at them through the den window as I am on the computer doing schoolwork as they are riding their bikes  and I’m reminded of how the day really went.  I remember them fighting over who gets to be first on a Wii game and me telling them to be quite so that I can work, to busy to show them how to resolve a conflict. I remembered how stern I got with my youngest son, Nole, when he didn’t do exactly as I told him getting mad and making threats – just because I’m his father and I can.  I remember the fear and hurt I saw in his eyes as lashed out at him.  I remember instead of catching lighting bugs I hurried them inside to take a bath, so that I could have a moment to myself.  I’m so disappointed in myself at times. 

 

I’m also disappointed in myself not just as a father, but also as a husband, son, and friend at times.  I know that my life was created for so much more than just being overwhelmed with work and school.  I have a purpose in life; I have an opportunity to do something great with my life as we all do. 

 

I am disappointed that I don’t love God more and willfully sin so much against him.  I can get insanely jealous if someone I know succeeds more than I.  I am disappointed at how petty and shallow I can be at times.  I can lead people to believe that I have it all together and yet I feel like at times my world is falling apart. 

 

These are just some of my disappointments.  I have darker ones that I am too ashamed to admit, as I’m sure we all do.  So why do so many others and I feel this way?  Some may say it is a lack of self-esteem, this may be true in part – but as I get a little older and hopefully a little wiser, I believe it is a deeper problem.  One that lurks deep within our soul, that we don’t like to admit, which is a failure to be the person God first called me to be.

 

I feel if I had always pursued God as my two boys pursue life, I would not feel such disappointment as I do.  Although as an adult I have forgotten what it was like to dream big dreams as a child.  I have forgotten what it is like to give God my all, as my boys do when they play.  If I were to do that then I would be in a much better place as a father, husband, son, and friend.  I would be more of the man that God first called me to be.  So for all my disappointments I am glad my God is a God of second and third chances, so it is my prayer today that I would seize all the little opportunities He has given me to be the person He intended me to be.

[Via http://steveliscum.wordpress.com]