Today marks yet another in a long string of sad days in American history as we continue our ever increasing slide into socialism, which has been ongoing for about a century.
When you remove free market principles and controls from any commodity or service, the price of said commodity or service will inevitably go up. This has been demonstrated over and over. It can also be seen in a simple contrast between our country and nations that have been marked by governmental control.
By increasing regulations and adding numerous layers of paperwork, it becomes so much more difficult for any start up or smaller providers/companies to compete. This will then end up distilling down to just a few who can provide a service or product, which inevitably makes said product or service even more expensive (as well as giving a consumer less choice and diversity). What happens next is that those few entities (including governments and corporations) will then accumulate more power and control, thus limiting the freedom in the marketplace all the more with a resultant continued spiral of costs out of control.
You can trace this process to what has happened to the cost of our educational system, in our energy delivery industries (thanks environmentalist wackos) and has been happening for a long time in health care. This will continue to be the case as long as the free market is driven from health care delivery. Unfortunately, today's appalling decision by "supreme" court courtesy of justice Roberts has driven our nation even further down this destructive pathway. Costs will rise, availability and diversity will decrease, and rationing will inevitably follow.
Pray for the people of America wake up and reclaim freedom in this nation before it is too late.
~ JDB
6.28.2012
6.20.2012
Grateful
Echoing the sentiments from a dear friend's Facebook page, I would just like to publicly express my appreciation to my older children, who showed me great tenderness on a day when I was feeling particularly frail, and blessed me beyond measure.
I am truly amazed sometimes to see them step into the position of strength in our relationship--to be the initiators, the spontaneous givers of a gentle squeeze, a tender glance, or sweet words of grace.
I had a *tiny* fit this afternoon after a particularly harrowing nap time routine, wherein I went to my bedroom and cried at the foot of my bed and told God that I was done, done, DONE. That it was too much. That this was impossible to expect of anyone, especially me. That I didn't feel that He was showing up for the game even after I begged so hard, so often, and with all these tears.
And after that, I felt a little hand on my arm and heard Elijah's voice say, "I'm so sorry, Mama. I just wanted to tell you that I finished up all my schoolwork on my own, so you don't need to explain it to me today."
And then later, I walked through the living room and saw Isaiah sitting quietly, reading. He looked up at me with the kindest eyes and smiled and told me he loved me and offered to listen out for Keira if I wanted a nap.
And then Jude, who had apologized all day for things he didn't even do, told me I was "so sweet, and pretty too." With my puffy eyes and red nose!
My girls are normally first in the role of emergency encouragement on the occasions when I really need it, but they were not home today, and to see my little men rise up and BE the hands of Christ to me was more than compensation for my rough afternoon. And a humbling answer to my question of where God's strength was when I needed it.
We are learning Romans 12 as a family right now, and the part that came to mind was verses 6-8, which says, "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."
Any number of those would have been good for me to recall during my pity party, but better late than never. And beautiful to see them remembered and lived out in the lives of my little ones.
So thank you, sweet soldiers! I love you very much--
I am truly amazed sometimes to see them step into the position of strength in our relationship--to be the initiators, the spontaneous givers of a gentle squeeze, a tender glance, or sweet words of grace.
I had a *tiny* fit this afternoon after a particularly harrowing nap time routine, wherein I went to my bedroom and cried at the foot of my bed and told God that I was done, done, DONE. That it was too much. That this was impossible to expect of anyone, especially me. That I didn't feel that He was showing up for the game even after I begged so hard, so often, and with all these tears.
And after that, I felt a little hand on my arm and heard Elijah's voice say, "I'm so sorry, Mama. I just wanted to tell you that I finished up all my schoolwork on my own, so you don't need to explain it to me today."
And then later, I walked through the living room and saw Isaiah sitting quietly, reading. He looked up at me with the kindest eyes and smiled and told me he loved me and offered to listen out for Keira if I wanted a nap.
And then Jude, who had apologized all day for things he didn't even do, told me I was "so sweet, and pretty too." With my puffy eyes and red nose!
My girls are normally first in the role of emergency encouragement on the occasions when I really need it, but they were not home today, and to see my little men rise up and BE the hands of Christ to me was more than compensation for my rough afternoon. And a humbling answer to my question of where God's strength was when I needed it.
We are learning Romans 12 as a family right now, and the part that came to mind was verses 6-8, which says, "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully."
Any number of those would have been good for me to recall during my pity party, but better late than never. And beautiful to see them remembered and lived out in the lives of my little ones.
So thank you, sweet soldiers! I love you very much--
6.06.2012
A (slightly mushy) Thank You Note
I am not trying to brag.
I am not trying to embarrass anyone (Jamey).
I am not just flippantly throwing out a "you're the best" type comment here.
But in this age of disposable marriages, confusion about the definition of marriage, and denial about the importance of marriage, I am truly grateful for mine.
A few months ago, Jamey was involved in a Facebook conversation with some people who insisted that marriage is an unnecessary, man-made institution--an ill-conceived form of bondage that serves to strangle our freedoms and passions.
A love killer.
In fact, one very passionate poster insisted that marriage is responsible for "murdering the family unit", and for the abuse of untold numbers of women and children through the ages.
Oh, my heart! How do you begin to open a person's eyes to the magnificence of God's design for us in marriage?
Over the past 17 years I have watched the transformation of two, young, selfish, immature people into something else entirely...
...well, not entirely. We are entirely old now, so that's different, but in the interest of full disclosure, I'd have to admit that I'm still pretty selfish and that we both have quicker tempers than we'd like. I can say that we have learned to squash those tendencies quicker than we used to, by God's grace, so that is progress!
Anyway, (before I derail this blog completely) back to my point. We started out well-intentioned, full of passionate feelings, desiring to honor one another and God, but unfortunately, it was often our feelings that thwarted us in that goal.
How often did we allow stress or exhaustion or anger to move us away from that first flush of romantic passion! With the strong personalities we both have, if we had not been grounded in something bigger than both of us, we would surely have ended in misery.
ONLY by re-centering on the the fact that our relationship was meant to be a picture of the way Christ loved us, putting our good above His own, could we avoid the pitfall of being enslaved by our emotions, and ultimately destroyed by our inherent selfishness. He loved us to the point of death! How can we, as His followers, not die in smaller ways every day for one another!
I read an excerpt from Timothy Keller's new book The Meaning of Marriage a few weeks ago that made so much sense to me. He writes, "The only way for you to be truly free is to link your feeling to an obligation. Only if you commit yourself of loving in action, day in and day out, even when feelings and circumstances are in flux, can you truly be a free individual and not a pawn of outside forces." Bingo!
I am becoming, by God's grace, less a slave of my emotions and more a volitional lover of my husband and my children, and everyone around me. This is freedom! It is safety. And comfort. And it ultimately breeds TRUE, deep, abiding love.
As Keller points out, "only if you maintain your love for someone when it is not thrilling can you be said to actually love a person" as opposed to loving "the feelings, thrills, ego rush and experiences that the other person brings." What a security that brings to the one being loved! I can testify to that.
This is not performance based! I do not need to worry about failing the audition, now or ever. I'm in! I am the beloved, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, whether plumpish or gaunt, crabby or cheerful, weepy or strong, no matter how often I leave the milk out and forget to close kitchen cabinets (although I am trying to get better on this).
Watching my husband love me like this for almost two decades has made me understand a little more about the love of God for an (often) unlovely people. Just in the past week, Jamey has (without complaining) given up all his plans for a free Saturday (of which he has very few) to take care of a pile of children so I could stay in bed until my headache was gone. At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, I rolled downstairs to find my household in perfect order and my husband leading the children by example in service to me.
He spent the second half of his day beautifully cleaning and re-organizing my pantry--a gift which has kept on giving all week! (Who knew we had six open jars of peanut butter and a box of crackers from 2009?)
He volunteered to make dinner for, and then shower our small children on Sunday night so that I could go out for a run.
He has been a model of tenderness and self-control with some very challenging parenting issues which have lately arisen.
Despite struggling with daily arthritis pain and fatigue, he is faithful at work, faithful at church, faithful at home and in his friendships.
He made a special trip to Costco to buy me the planters I mentioned I liked.
Tonight, he ate broccoli. Without audibly gagging or making a face. Because I made it.
And that was just this week. It's only Tuesday! And it's a partial list. Enough said.
What the "down with marriage" crowd neglects to see, is how contagious this kind of love really is.
How the beloved responds to being cherished--by loving the lover.
Funny how forgetting to take a constant pulse on how YOU are feeling can actually make you feel better. Funny how serving when it isn't convenient or fun or fulfilling, can actually be the means of fulfillment. Funny how doing the last thing you want to do can put you first in someone's heart.
So, thank you, God, for designing such a beautiful picture of your great love for us in the marriage relationship. And thank you, Jamey, for living it out so faithfully. I love you!
I am not trying to embarrass anyone (Jamey).
I am not just flippantly throwing out a "you're the best" type comment here.
But in this age of disposable marriages, confusion about the definition of marriage, and denial about the importance of marriage, I am truly grateful for mine.
A few months ago, Jamey was involved in a Facebook conversation with some people who insisted that marriage is an unnecessary, man-made institution--an ill-conceived form of bondage that serves to strangle our freedoms and passions.
A love killer.
In fact, one very passionate poster insisted that marriage is responsible for "murdering the family unit", and for the abuse of untold numbers of women and children through the ages.
Oh, my heart! How do you begin to open a person's eyes to the magnificence of God's design for us in marriage?
Over the past 17 years I have watched the transformation of two, young, selfish, immature people into something else entirely...
...well, not entirely. We are entirely old now, so that's different, but in the interest of full disclosure, I'd have to admit that I'm still pretty selfish and that we both have quicker tempers than we'd like. I can say that we have learned to squash those tendencies quicker than we used to, by God's grace, so that is progress!
Anyway, (before I derail this blog completely) back to my point. We started out well-intentioned, full of passionate feelings, desiring to honor one another and God, but unfortunately, it was often our feelings that thwarted us in that goal.
How often did we allow stress or exhaustion or anger to move us away from that first flush of romantic passion! With the strong personalities we both have, if we had not been grounded in something bigger than both of us, we would surely have ended in misery.
ONLY by re-centering on the the fact that our relationship was meant to be a picture of the way Christ loved us, putting our good above His own, could we avoid the pitfall of being enslaved by our emotions, and ultimately destroyed by our inherent selfishness. He loved us to the point of death! How can we, as His followers, not die in smaller ways every day for one another!
I read an excerpt from Timothy Keller's new book The Meaning of Marriage a few weeks ago that made so much sense to me. He writes, "The only way for you to be truly free is to link your feeling to an obligation. Only if you commit yourself of loving in action, day in and day out, even when feelings and circumstances are in flux, can you truly be a free individual and not a pawn of outside forces." Bingo!
I am becoming, by God's grace, less a slave of my emotions and more a volitional lover of my husband and my children, and everyone around me. This is freedom! It is safety. And comfort. And it ultimately breeds TRUE, deep, abiding love.
As Keller points out, "only if you maintain your love for someone when it is not thrilling can you be said to actually love a person" as opposed to loving "the feelings, thrills, ego rush and experiences that the other person brings." What a security that brings to the one being loved! I can testify to that.
This is not performance based! I do not need to worry about failing the audition, now or ever. I'm in! I am the beloved, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, whether plumpish or gaunt, crabby or cheerful, weepy or strong, no matter how often I leave the milk out and forget to close kitchen cabinets (although I am trying to get better on this).
Watching my husband love me like this for almost two decades has made me understand a little more about the love of God for an (often) unlovely people. Just in the past week, Jamey has (without complaining) given up all his plans for a free Saturday (of which he has very few) to take care of a pile of children so I could stay in bed until my headache was gone. At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, I rolled downstairs to find my household in perfect order and my husband leading the children by example in service to me.
He spent the second half of his day beautifully cleaning and re-organizing my pantry--a gift which has kept on giving all week! (Who knew we had six open jars of peanut butter and a box of crackers from 2009?)
He volunteered to make dinner for, and then shower our small children on Sunday night so that I could go out for a run.
He has been a model of tenderness and self-control with some very challenging parenting issues which have lately arisen.
Despite struggling with daily arthritis pain and fatigue, he is faithful at work, faithful at church, faithful at home and in his friendships.
He made a special trip to Costco to buy me the planters I mentioned I liked.
Tonight, he ate broccoli. Without audibly gagging or making a face. Because I made it.
And that was just this week. It's only Tuesday! And it's a partial list. Enough said.
What the "down with marriage" crowd neglects to see, is how contagious this kind of love really is.
How the beloved responds to being cherished--by loving the lover.
Funny how forgetting to take a constant pulse on how YOU are feeling can actually make you feel better. Funny how serving when it isn't convenient or fun or fulfilling, can actually be the means of fulfillment. Funny how doing the last thing you want to do can put you first in someone's heart.
So, thank you, God, for designing such a beautiful picture of your great love for us in the marriage relationship. And thank you, Jamey, for living it out so faithfully. I love you!
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