On November 8, 2016, I made the decision not to vote for Trump and not to vote for Clinton.
My reason:
1). Donald Trump has never had the experience and it shows
2). Hillary Clinton has done much that I am sad to see
I voted for me. I voted for me because: I trust me. I voted for me because of the twenty-eight years I have taught high school music. During those twenty-eight years, I have been blessed with many positives and negatives. I have experienced enough positives and negatives that I have learned all of that “stuff” is from God. To make a tree stronger, it needs wind. To make me stronger, I need to have those students and their parents say and do some of the most “hate-filled things.” I had a bag of dog crap lit on fire on my doorstep. We have a mailbox in the band room. I opened an unmarked envelope and there was a piece of crap in the envelope. I have parents make unsubstantiated claims against me. I live under the leadership of “perception is reality.” Much like a president, I have had to do what I can to stay true to myself, family and most importantly GOD.
With our nation’s Forty-Fifth President’s inauguration being two days away (this was written at 6:15pm; January 18, 2017), I wanted to share with you how strong I feel that God has had this all planned and part of the plan is for us to DEFEND OUR HEARTS. This is GOD’S plan. I am reading Michael Medved’s THE AMERICAN MIRACLE and I highly recommend the book. Mr. Medved does a remarkable job proving his thesis that indeed, God Blesses America. Well, He will continue to bless America.
When I see the way the “anti-Trump” people are behaving, I am reminded of the Bible passage I read today:
Matthew 12:22-32 English Standard Version (ESV)
Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to Him and He healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.” Knowing their thoughts, He said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? There they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house. Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters. Therefore, I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
And the commentary related to the above passage is from my LEADERSHIP BIBLE: Jesus knew that a kingdom divided against itself is destine to fall. This is true within the church, and it is true within business as well. Because all parts of an organization affect each other, an organization will reach its highest potential only when its members relate to one another in a cohesive, united way. Because effective leaders know this, they do their best to produce and facilitate systems that work together.
The sixty-plus congressmen (at the time of this blog, all of them Democrats) have done what God said would happen, the kingdom divided against itself is destine to fall. They have planted the seeds for our nation / our “kingdom” to fall. Our younger generation looks at them and says, “Right on!” “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. (Matthew 12:33) Our congressmen have planted “bad seeds.” What good are the congressmen doing?
Our nation must fall. It’s not just Trump! It all leads to Trump and he will continue it. And I predict right now, that Elizabeth Warren, as the next president, will continue our nation’s fall. We have fallen before! The most recent fall was: from 1913 (Woodrow Wilson) through April 12, 1945 (the death of Franklin D Roosevelt), we fell! I understand that many label that to be our “greatest generation.” But, look at what they had to endure to become the “greatest generation.” During that period: World War I; depression; December 5, 1933 prohibition lifted; Securities and Exchange Commission; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; World War II; Internment camps in 1942 … just to name a few. We are falling again.
As our nation falls, I would encourage all of us to look at our “heart” and defend it.
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account of the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:33-3
Using my LEADERSHIP BIBLE as my guide for this offering to you…
Using Mathew 12:33-37, Jesus inseparably paired the themes of character and the ability to communicate. What has the congressmen not attending the inauguration shown us? Weakness. They are displaying the opposite of their message. Do you realize how much strength it takes for Secretary Clinton and President Clinton to be up there on the podium at the inauguration on Friday, January 20th? To their credit, there is a sense of strength and vitality towards the nation. THEY GET IT! I respect what Secretary Clinton and President Clinton are doing as leaders: THEY ARE GIVING! They are giving the nation and the world their understanding of the event, while – by not attending – the congressmen have made their show of “farce” i all about them and frankly, the hopes that they will be re-elected!
From John Hardwig: Personal relationships between adults (and perhaps between adults and children) are to be entered into and continued out of a sense of strength, fullness and vitality, both in yourself and in the other, not out of a sense of weakness, need, emptiness or incapacity. Anything other than a shared sense of vitality and strength would lead to …unacceptable motives…Moreover, if I see myself primarily as a being in need, I will be too focused on myself and my needs. I will then tend to depersonalize you into a someone who can meet my needs. And I will also be generally unable to freely and joyously give.
I trust that God is making all “this” happen so the United States of America will become stronger. It hurts seeing people use Trump to fill their need for retribution; retribution, in a sense for how President Obama was treated or Clinton was treated. When I can put my heart in God’s hands, I find comfort that He is the “composer.” He is the conductor. I would ask you to trust God, our composer / our conductor, He will fill our hearts with incredible music. No amount of skill or technique will compensate for an empty or an evil heart. Ladies & Gentlemen: there is a real battle for our hearts. DEFEND YOUR HEART! Are the actions you are taking reflecting a loving heart? The words you use to describe Trump are no better than the word he used to describe women. Just because you are using them doesn’t make them better words. They are the same words. Bottom line… are the actions you are choosing reflecting a loving, compassionate, caring heart?