Yes, another political post........

Eric Williams, one of my coworkers and a passionate young man, sent out an email regarding Senator Barrack Obama. I agree with his statement regarding Obama's name......

"I'd like to clear up a couple of misconceptions about Senator Obama. First, PLEASE stop attacking his name. His name is rooted in Arabic/ Swahili wording (Swahili is VERY similar to Arabic, in the same way the Hindi language is). People who attack his name because of the similarity to Saddam or any other Hussein are doing so strictly from ignorance. Hussein is a widely popular name amongst Arabs, due to the name of Muhammad's grandson's name and the desire to honor him. Attacking Barack because his middle name is Hussein would be like attacking someone with the name Joseph because of Stalin."

There is plenty to cause doubt on the fitness of Senator Obama to fulfill the duties and character of the President of the United States. For some reason, several voters have decided that it is only his lack of military service that is a viable reason behind such doubt, rather than his liberal, socialistic, and executive inexperience or nature. Eric points out that Obama would not be the first President not to have military service on their resume, but he is the first to have a decisive lack of either military or governmental service in and out of conflicts that have peppered this young nation's history; from the 1676 King Philip's war in which American colonists fought on through to the 2003 Iraq war. We have had 43 Presidents serving in the White House during that time, and only 12 of those Presidents have no military experience…

John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, William Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, and William (Bill) Clinton.

Every serving president since 1941 until 1992, or from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to George H. W. Bush, has served actively in the military, either in wartime or in peace. Roosevelt served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War 1 at age 35 and George H.W. Bush served as a pilot in the Air National Guard. Neither had any combat experience in uniform.

Ten of the twelve Presidents selected by my colleague served in a variety of political postings; Adams as an ambassador, representative from Massachusetts; Jefferson and Van Buren are the only Presidents to serve as a governor, vice-president and Secretary of State. Jefferson also served in the Contential Congress and Van Buren as a senator from New York; Quincy Adams as secretary to the Minister of Russia and the Minister of Russia himself; Taft served as negotiator for McKinley for the Spanish-American War, chief counsel for the commission to establish a government in the Philippines, Governor-general of the Philippines, and Secretary of War; Wilson served as Governor of New Jersey, as well as the President of Princeton;

Harding was a Ohio State senator, Lieutenant-Governor of Ohio, and a US Senator; Coolidge was a city councilman in Northampton, Massachusetts, State Representative, Mayor of Northampton, State Senator, Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts, Governor of Massachusetts, and Vice-President under Harding; Hoover was the Head of the US Food Administration and known as one of the Top Ten Living Americans at the conclusion of WW1 for his humanitarian efforts in feeding Europe; Franklin Roosevelt, as mentioned, was Assistant SecNav and is the only President who was elected four times.

Only two served in no government posting during the conflicts that they were eligible for military draft.

Grover Cleveland was practicing law in New York during the Civil War. The Conscription Act of 1863 required all able-bodied men to serve in the Army if called upon, or hire a substitute and Cleveland paid George Benninsky, a 32 year old Polish immigrant $150 dollars to serve in his stead. In 1870, Cleveland would serve as Sheriff of Erie County, beginning his political service after losing a bid for District Attorney in 1865. Cleveland and the law firm he started with his friends were well-known in the elite among New York's finest.

Even so, as his biographer Allan Nevins wrote, "probably no man in the country, on March 4, 1881, had less thought than this limited, simple, sturdy attorney of Buffalo that four years later he would be standing in Washington and taking the oath as President of the United States." Cleveland is the only President to win two nonconsecutive terms to the Presidency, 1885-1889 and 1893-1897.

Some may want to compare Senator Barrack Obama's rise to vie for the highest political office as a similarity of Cleveland's, whereas Obama never had realized such lofty dreams. Yet, if we compare the historical stature of Cleveland as an attorney, we find a elite, well-known man who's propelling into such national spotlight could readily be seen as uncommon, but expected. Obama has no such claim to his earlier years prior to his first run for political office, funded and supported by the more liberal and socialist political players in American politics.

William Jefferson Clinton is the most narifous of the twelve 'non-military' Presidents. After registering for the draft in 1964 and being given a 2-S deferment due to his college enrollment, Clinton faced possible induction with Johnson rescission of the exemptions in 1968. Being reclassified as 'eligible for enlistment', Clinton dodged one induction notice and brought in heavy influence to the other to beat the induction. His pre-induction physical was delayed twice as long as others and five times as long as qualified males of comparative eligibility.

Clinton would join the ROTC at University of Alabama to obtain deferment, even though Army regulations state that to be eligible the person must be enrolled at the University and be a full-time student. Clinton was a student at Oxford, and never attended ROTC, being overseas in London organizing and leading anti-war protests, traveling to Norway to meet with 'peace' organizations and winding up in Russia in December of 1969, saying that "a time of détente," existed in 1969-1970, despite strained relations between the two superpowers because Russia was supplying the North Vietnamese with tools of war.

Colonel Eugene Holmes, commander of the program, admitted that there was pressure from the Hot Springs board and the office of Senator J. William Fulbright (D-AR) to admit Clinton into the program. Holmes, a decorated office in the US Army, has a stunning resume; survivor of the Bataan Death March, 3 ½ years in a Japanese prisoner of war camp and awarded of the Silver Star, 2 Bronze stars, 2 Legions of Merit, and the Army commendation medal among others. He inducted both sons during the Vietnam War, one as an enlisted man and the other as a commissioned officer (the son completed ROTC).

Clinton apparently changes his mind about the draft, writing his commanding officer, Col. Holmes, in the ROTC program at UofA. "The decision not to be a resister and the related subsequent decisions were the most difficult of my life. I decided to accept the draft in spite of my beliefs for one reason only, to maintain my political viability within the system. For years I have worked to prepare myself for a political life characterized by both practical political ability and concern for rapid social progress. It is a life I still feel compelled to try to lead. I do not think our system of government is by definition corrupt, however dangerous and inadequate it has been in recent years."

Sound familiar? Obama says the same thing about his time as a 'community activist' and his associations.....often distorting his voting record.

During Clinton's administration, spanning two terms, he signed H.R. 4655 into law to institute a policy of 'regime change' against Iraq. He launched Operation Desert Fox, a four day bombing campaign against that country. The Battle of Mogadishu, in Somalia, was another conflict the Clinton Presidency experienced with a black eye as 18 soldiers were brutalized and killed by natives when two Black Hawk Helicopters fell behind enemy lines. The US was involved in stopping the ethnic cleansing of Albanians by Serbians in Kosovo with a NATO bombing campaign named Operation Allied Force.

Biden says that we can expect a President Obama to be tried by those in other nations as they bring a crisis to 'test his metal'. Even, apparently, from those nations were he would open diplomatic lines with known terrorists, countries where he is celebrated as their choice for President of our country.

Look at the twelve non-military Presidents and compare their pre-Presidential lives to that of the upcoming Senator who was labeled the Most Liberal Senator in 2007. Look at their associations and compare to Senator Obama's. Look at his non-siding, liberal voting record…….and then again marvel at his rise to fame.'

Can you really say, regardless of military inexperience, that Obama has so much more to offer as character reference to his viability as President? Other than a historical 'first'?

Vote your values, not publicity. Vote your morals, not surrender them in compromise. Vote, not for image but for the best of us to represent us. And if you don't find them on the Republican, Democrat, or even third-party tickets…..write your candidate in. Yes, some will say you are just throwing your vote away. Then throw it away for a purpose; to declare that the American people want the best leaders leading and not the savviest politician…….

Compare the past Presidents to these two future hopefuls. Compare and be warned………you get what you vote for…….

As my colleague Eric closes his email with: "That's not to say that the Obama camp is without fault. I could go on and on with a list of previous voting records, previous recorded statements, etc of things he's said that have gone against history……….Above all, vote……. Good luck to all of us, we'll need it."

Resources:
http://mazurland.typepad.com/myweblog/2007/11/military-servic.html
http://ohnestaeb.newsvine.com/_news/2008/07/09/1650176-military-service-and-the-presidency
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/896151/why_military_service_should_actually.html
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080714141446AAORINB
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Which_president_served_in_both_the_revolutionary_war_and_the_war_of_1812
http://books.google.com/books?id=xFxtqw-5NcEC&pg=PA111&lpg=PA111&dq=John+Adams+a+dove%3F&source=web&ots=Wxn-lB-0e5&sig=GYHuRQWas_Wvlq4WxxSEGZjyaYE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=11&ct=result#PPP13,M1
Congressional Record (Page: H5550) 7/30/93 William Clinton's letter to ROTC commander at UofA.

A little piece of Heaven here on earth......

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. The people of every nation will be gathered in front of him. He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right but the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, my Father has blessed you! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home. I needed clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' Then the people who have God's approval will reply to him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and take you into our homes or see you in need of clothes and give you something to wear? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' The king will answer them, 'I can guarantee this truth: Whatever you did for one of my brothers or sisters, no matter how unimportant [they seemed], you did for me.'" Matthew 25:31-40 (GWT)

My eyes are still not dry from the ride into work, an hour trip on way that I often do on autopilot. Since I 'splurged' the five dollars for a cheap attachment so that I can plug my nieces' gift of an used MP3 player into my 1995 'classic' radio system, I can listen to my favorite tunes on the way....connecting with God in a way that life doesn't seem to allow outside of the worship services of my new church, The River. I'm probably a sight, driving down Dixie Highway, Telegraph, M-10, and the Southfield Freeway.....arms popping up to the sky and belting out the song louder than the radio itself!

It wasn't the events; so many within the last few months that have my eyes in tears, raising my hands and voice in praise to our Lord and Savior...though one would understand surely if that was indeed the reasoning and approve of it.....

One song, listened to over and over and over.....hit me as God wrapped His warm and loving arms around me this morning and for the first time in a while.....I drove along in silence, playing the same song over and over again.............for the hour's drive......

"I can only imagine what it'll be like when I walk by Your side. I can only imagine what my eyes will see when Your face is before me. I can only imagine. Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel? Will I dance for You Jesus or in awe of You be still? Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing Hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all?" I Can Only Imagine MercyMe The Worship Project.

I've often felt that wonder, that wonder of what the awesome and powerful impact of having my Savior standing before me and speaking to me person-to-person in a physical, relational way....far beyond the times His Father has spoken verbally to me or the Spirit has impassioned me......that day I long for, strive for, and know in my heart will eventually come; in His time and not my own. It is why I hang on by that fingertip on the ledge of this broken world....it is why I struggle against the flesh. For that moment in time, that place in the Heavens. Something my heart longs for, yet has never yet known.......

Or has it?

There is that saying, "A little piece of Heaven here on Earth." It has been used as a slogan for a destination vacation spot or some fancy new treatment at the local spa, inferring that the blissfulness and joy of Heaven has been 'recreated' at that spot or with that treatment.....

God told me this morning, as I listened to MercyMe......"A piece of Heaven here on Earth for you, My Beloved son."

And I knew how I will act when Jesus stands before me, face-to-face. I will fall to my knees, eyes in tears of joy, and be unable to speak..........

A month or two ago, a brother of mine in the ministry M3 sent me an email asking about how things were going. I mentioned that I was okay, not buying up Lincolns to drive and huge homes to dwell in; but 'struggling well' as one of our mentors says. Things were tight, but not disastrous........I mentioned needs that were unfulfilled but being worked towards............

He said that he had some clothes his kids had outgrown for my son, who seems to have experienced a major spurt in his growth.........we made plans to meet to exchange them as the months progressed, emails of clothing sizes and such flying back and forth in the air of the Internet age.

We met up last night as my son practiced flag football with his team on the field of The River's eventual home a short jog away on the highway. Recently my thoughts, as I am sure the thoughts of parents everywhere have, turned towards the looming holidays and how they were going to be so different from the holidays in the past recent years.....as I remarked, somewhat bitterly to a friend, "This Christmas is going to rely on the charity of strangers."

Don't get me wrong....it isn't that such isn't appreciated, far from it. I'd rather focus my attention on giving to others than having to ask for gifts for my children, for that is the only reason I'd ask for it in the first place.

It was a blessing in disguise....a brother in Christ I haven't seen since the Story Weekend we both went on a year ago, Vito, was there as I arrived. A brother who's story touches my own and who's heart is reflective of God's powerful light. It was great to reconnect with my brother-in-arms, and to be reminded that lives touched are lives changed.

The gentleman, Tim, who's house we met at said a comment that describes best the connection that, untapped for a year, still exists between a burly, Italian powerful man of God and I; "You can always tell the guys who have shared a story weekend."

As I travelled back to the practice field to watch the remainder of practice, I peeked in the bags that my brother had helped load into my car. It struck me as odd that there were tags sticking out of the bags......and the clothes, supposedly used, had that 'new clothes fold' to them. I arrived at the field and parked. I noticed one smaller bag within one of them, so I pulled it out.

Inside were some gloves and a head band thingy from Isotones....you know, keeps the ears warm....as it was colder, I grabbed the head band thingy....I had to remove the tags though......

Practice ended early, the coach citing the cold and the falling darkness (the field is unlit). My son, as my dear child is oft to do, was excited about the practice just completed....and the adventure awaiting ahead trying on what he assumed were used clothes from another family who's son had outgrown them. He was excited, after the introduction of the head band thingy.......which he was quick to inform me was his favorite, since it kept his ears warm.

Long story short....the clothes were new, with the store tags still attached. My BIC said that his friend that was giving the clothes didn't have any used, so went out and bought new. It was a soothing balm to this Dad's soul to watch his son's excited and delighted face as he tried them on and made plans for what he would wear for his next month's worth of schooling.......and his comment of 'can I make a card to thank your friend?'

A little piece of heaven here on earth.................

When I called my friend about how the 'used' clothes were new, my friend told me that a brother wanted to bless me and had arranged with my landlord to take care of my December obligation.

A little piece of heaven here on earth.................

The biting cold of another Michigan winter is whispering at the doors of the season and yet I am warm inside. Because a few of my brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ followed the example of the Groom Himself, and displayed the light of His love, the power of His touch, and the compassion within His heart in a darkness of a broken world.

Proclaiming the Gospel without uttering a word, without a handshake in appreciation.

Showing the love of Christ in a simple way, maybe, but in a way that is undeniably God's. It isn't the clothes in and of itself.

It is a group of people who moved where God told them to go; without question and without qualm.

I don't have to wonder what I would do when I come face to face with the Savior, His hands and feet bearing the nail marks and the wound in His side. I don't have to think about whether I would sing His praises or be in utter awe to the point of silence.

I am seeing Christ reflected from the actions and words of silent beacons in the darkness of the world, I feel the whisper of the robe of the One who walks beside me in the words of those who interact with me during meetings and discussions.

Maybe it is just that being at the bottom, I can hear my God more clearly because I have no where to look but up. It may be, as I see how I can't do this life alone, that I rely on God's mercies each day.

It may be, but I don't think so.

The deeds of loving kindness, true benevolence, and agape love are what we, as church, called to in service to our King. They can be done in many different ways by all types of people, regardless of financial status or inclination.

As Chrysostom said, "He said not I was sick and ye healed me; or in prison and ye set me free; but ye visited me and came unto me." Personal and real service, involving some sacrifice of ease, time, or even property.

We aren't to do such things, such acts of unparalleled beauty and mercy, because they entitle us to eternal happiness but rather for the sake of God as a mark of our holiness as believers under the effects of grace.

A light upon the hilltop, shining into the darkness.

Exposing a piece of heaven here on earth............

"Thus life and death, good and evil, the blessing and the curse, are set before us, that we may choose our way, and as our way so shall our end be." Matthew Henry.

A taste, real and savory, of the Kingdom yet to come..............

Some people try to hide their failures, sinful nature, or mistakes made. Not me, I want people to know 'why' I look this way. I've travelled a long, long way and some of the roads weren't paved. The joy isn't in the road travelled, but the blessedness of those met upon the journey home.

In this life, regardless of your 'lot', make sure that you direct your light in a manner befitting the King you serve. Do something that is honoring to your God and King. A smile over the handing out of a warm, home-cooked meal to those displaced from a home, a blessed word to the 'grumpy' co-worker who is worried about their job, or a contribution of funds to a shelter, food bank, or clothing store for the poor.........something that stretches you in a way that makes you reach beyond what you can do so God can show you how to do it.............

In the darkest recess of a broken, fallen world is where the smallest light can shine the brightest .......


Bring a little piece of heaven to those you know here on Earth.

And find out how you will act when you meet Jesus face-to-face!