Dear America,
"Do not be anxious in anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus."
the Apostle Paul, near the end of his address
to the Philippians (Ch. 4:6-7)
to the Philippians (Ch. 4:6-7)
can I get an amen?
“Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.”
― George Washington
Thank you, George. Love that.
Moving right along to being more to the point, probably my favorite verse in the whole Bible, comes in the advice immediately following. So to the Apostle Paul speaking to the Philippians one more time:
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praise worthy-- think about such things, Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me -- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you," (Philippians Ch. 4:8-9)
These are anxious days in America. Newsflash: again.
While my Jesus Calling of daily devotions noted this just today: "Don't divide your life into things you can do by yourself and things that require My help. Instead, rely on Me in every situation."
To which my reply is, yes, please.
Summer is over.
And given this stark reality -- my responsibilities to family, job, service organization, my own welfare, have collided into a whirlwind of activity from dawn until dusk. But strangely enough, I'm finding that the more I slow down, the more I can accomplish; to be sure, this girl is venturing to capture the very essence of less is more in all things no matter where life takes me.
And to that end, the sheer demand of being present with one thing at a time has allowed me to meet this intersection -- this continuously running four-way stop, juggling day to day things, pulling me this way, and that way -- without collision, and without so much as a ding (aside from the rather off-putting run-on sentence) (cuz it's what I do!) (what ever)
Moving right along...
It's not me; it's letting God do God's thing with me. What's the point in fighting it anymore; truth is, there is nothing that I do all by myself that I do very well.
Moving right along some more...
And this is just my observation (duh) -- but America, as a whole, seems to be in this place.
No, Not the position of letting God to God's thing...as we slip further and further away from that day in the life of America, losing our religion and all...; but the place called collision.
And never you mind the logic, or the dictionary, but this place called collision happens to appear just after collusion. I know. weird, right?
Those links, plucked from my one of my favorite things -- The Patriot Post -- just gives a nice snapshot of the scene of the accident. And to have it make sense, you need to read the second link before the first. k? And if you have already read the first before the second, it will be okay; no need to look back. The further you get away from it in the rear view mirror, the better. (Just say a little prayer and keep going, that's what I always do.)
Moving right along. Be mindful of who you are listening to and the ulterior motives in the mix...
SYRIA.
What a mess.
But I kinda like where this president is going with it.
The thing is, people -- Trump said he was not in favor of this thing called Endless Wars. And it's a pretty big deal in America.
Honestly, I'm confused by all the grief Trump is getting on this one. The reality never changing on these Endless Wars, year in and year out, has been a horrific scene on the side of the road that nobody seems brave enough to walk away from, and I mean, nobody.
America is not responsible for being the leader along the avenue of providing security forces for the entire world!
It's like, how did we get here? Why did I highlight that sentence as if rainbows and unicorns are dancing in my head?
Moving right along,,,,
as a matter of fact, I think the president should do more of this.
Pull out! Bring our troops home. Let all the world provide their own security...if only for a nano-second in the great scheme of things.
Better yet, start sending an invoice for services provided. If you want American troops, with heavy artillery and a spirit of leave no man behind, we will comply and properly send all the world a bill. How would that be?
And yet, where would that invoice to the Syrian Kurds go? Seriously? Where would you send it?
Love this headline from The Washington ComPost: "Trump downplays U.S. alliance with Syrian Kurds, saying ‘they didn’t help us in the Second World War’"
What amuses me, in this age of most Americans having war fatigue for quite some time now, is that we have finally come to a point of decision under Trump, to loosen the grip we have in the Middle East just an itty bitty bit, and suddenly people respond with oh my word, no, we can't do that...Seriously?
Now -- I have always believed that you go into war to win. I have have always believed in peace through strength. I have always believed in defending human rights, whether next door, or around the world. I have always believed in keeping a strong military, national sovereignty, and secure American borders. I have always believed that our national security, and the intrepid keeping of a well-regulated militia, is the MOST important, and quite possibly the MAIN, responsibility of our Federal Government...
And with that being said, I believe the world has taken advantage of America and her security resources.
The thing is, it's Americans, everyday Americans, who have paid dearly for this good fortune all over the world -- in body, in limb, in mind, in soul, in assets and tax payer dollars!
I believe this aspect of policing the world's peace and security has got to come to a better understanding; it's just a consideration, don't hate.
See more background at Nate Jackson's piece on Trump's Turkish Test.
In any event, between Trump's lack of eloquence, in general, and his natural ability to look like a bull in a china shop on any day, this whole Syrian scene is hard to ignore; the damage has been done and we can't seem to look away, let alone un-see it. What else can we expect with the election of a mover and a shaker, and quintessential New Yorker, to the highest office in all the land? This is Trump doing Trump things, as only Trump can do. (Just hoping Trump prays on all things, too.)
Moving right along. The whole world is a basket case.
Ah boy, the more I think about it, it's not so much the little things happening in my own little world that make me anxious, so much as the other things going on around me -- in the macro.
And then again, this too, must be let go.
God is still in charge.
God has a plan.
God is not dead, no matter how many people around us act like it.
And this TRUTH gives me pause at every turn. Awe, G, look both ways before you cross the street and then look up.
Look up. Indeed. Look up.
And, look in; close your eyes and look inside and know that God is doing God's thing. Rely on God in every situation, large and small, and all things will be well. No matter what happens.
The drive-by media makes matters so much closer than they appear in the rear-view mirror; and not only that, the drive-by loves to accentuate the negative when it comes to any story, any decision, any thing and every thing this president does. That is just a drive-by fact courtesy of yours truly.
Moving right along. Collision, collusion, tomayto, tomahto. It's all the same. We survive by the Grace of God, large and small. And to that end, it would be wise to be disciplined in the reliance of God in everything.
It is through this reliance that we are assured true peace, every day.
“The turning points of lives are not the great moments.
The real crises are often concealed
in occurrences so trivial in appearance
that they pass unobserved.”
― George Washington
yes, a cryptic message at the end of this day just seemed like the right way to go.
Make it a Good Day, G
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment