It's all over.

Its over. Finished. Good Riddance.

  Fasting worked too! No, I don't mean for a socialist to be re-elected, I mean it worked in that I felt I had so much more time to actually get things done, which I did! Cut down a tree, a bush, trimmed a tree, raked leaves a billion times over, cleaned out the swimming pool in my basement after a hurricane...

    I had meant to post blogs throughout the experience, but in the end, this was going to be too much of a distraction. About a hundred times I thought of a cool status or something to say on facebook and even wrote a few of them down for later...but now I don't remember the context of them and they don't even seem that meaningful. Boy, what does THAT tell me.

    In all honesty, I didn't miss any of you. :-) Well, I mean, anymore than I already miss you. But in the way that even facebook can't fix. When you do without something, you realize how often you are tempted with it! And now I can see the unecessariness of it.

     Having been back to Facebook for a whole week (or so), I'm already not sure its worth coming back, and haven't fully really. I already felt hooked into several political discussion- for what purpose? Kind of the same feeling I have with coming back to sugar. I had 2 cookies, and several bites of batter and I already feel super bleh... hmm. I used to be able to do 10- easy! What else could I give up that would completely change the way I feel- especially spiritually?

   In that way, the fast did benefit me. For another thing, it kept my blood pressure low during the whole time...I didn't cultivate any enemies, and quite frankly, I feel more at peace about our political situation than I ever have, which has only really hit me since the election. No, I think we are worse off than ever. This Obamacare thing is more crap than people realize, but it's in God's hands, and I have been able to relinquish...ownership of the horrible state of the Nation. Its not a burden I can bear anyway. Granted, the night of, I couldn't be pried away from the screen. But then again, it was more about my fascination with the political science behind the numbers game that these politicians play. Its a mathematical formula really. These guys don't need to win our votes- they just need to make appear good and try to sway several thousand undecideds in certain counties in certain swing states and they got it made. Just think what could happen if all that campaign money went somewhere else besides to attack ads?? Yes, I am extremely disappointed that PA had nearly all democrat winners- despite only a handful of counties being blue- (I won't even touch why its basically only urban areas that vote democrat...theyaretheoneswhobenefitfromcoughgovernmenthandoutscough...or how certain areas had NO republican votes...how?? or why democrats don't want to prevent voter fraud....)

  I'm sorry I couldn't share Gary Bauer's epic speech on the evils of many of the (current) democrats belief systems.

   We finished watching Harry Potter. My final analysis in a word is dark. It started out for kids, but is certainly NOT for kids. Though I supposed by the time the 'fans' got around to watching the last movie, they would have been 8 years older, but that doesn't help future generations. I don't even find the movies that edifying for adults really (sorry if you are a fan :-). At least one pastor was able to draw analogies from the series One quote at the end of the last movie did stick out to me: "Words are our most powerful magic- the power to hurt or the power to heal. Don't pity the dead, pity the living- especially those living without love".


     By the way America, its not too late to repent for your ideology and how you voted wrong,- but it is too late to avoid the consequences. Buckle yourselves in, here we go! God bless these Socialist States of America! At least we are done with all those darn campaign ads...

For a really good article on a response to this election, check it out here.

Give it a rest...

Republican vs Democrat.
      Every four years, its a new battle for the ages, and it comes down to a date about 40 days from now. These deceptive emotion manipulators (candidates, media- its all interchangeable) pit brother against brother.
Makes me sick, honestly.


      So who are you voting for? Ahh....who cares. It doesn't matter. Whoever will win, will win. Wait, so it's hopeless? We aren't changing each other's minds, that's for sure. I'm voting for the pro-life, pro-family party. You can vote for whoever you justify voting (the pro-peace, pro-humanitarian party I think is how most people (Nicolaitans?) justify the other party these days :-). But in the end, is either candidate really going to follow the partys' ideals? Are they really even going to follow the true will of the people? Most importantly, are they even going to follow Christ and HIS ideals?

Are we?

WAIT, so it IS hopeless??

No. There is one thing we can change- our heart. (Denominational caveat: you may not actually believe you can change your heart-  for pity sakes let God do it then)

   Last week in church, the message was on Revelations 2. In verse 4 God says ^"But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first."
Of course, I was also encouraged by Revelations 2:6 "Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate" (and I couldn't help but interchange the word "Nicolaitans" with Democrats. Nicolaitans- destruction of people- were a sect who cast a stumbling block before the church of God by wrongfully using Christian liberty and committing fornication, so its not that much of a stretch! Okay, at least the liberal philosophy then.)

    I was also challenged recently by a dear friend and brother: How much do I care about this election? Well, pretty darn much! How much? Am I going to fast and pray over it? hmmm...no, I was just going to post and re-post a bunch of items showing disgust through hilarity and extremes depicting the other guy's faults and hope that enough people also saw how awful he was. I was also probably going to look up a few featured articles in mainstream media sources (non-partisan of course) that intelligently point out the other candidate's faults to a tee in hopes of persuading the weak-minded and undecided that these are gospel truth as well. But I hadn't really thought of prayer and fasting. That's kind of...old school and antiquated... right?

Depends. What kind of "change" am I REALLY hoping for?? How much have I lost my true love and simply pursued something to hate (even if its the right hate)?

James 5:16b "The effectual (be operative-put forth power) fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." KJV
Mark 9:29: "So He (Jesus) said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." NKJV
      Are we qualified to know and fight in the Spirit world and know what forces are at work and what effectual prayer accomplishes in the Spirit world if we don't even take up the weapons in the fight? 
Ephesians 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."NKJV

     Major decisions and issues always seem to go hand in hand with prayer and fasting in the Bible, why shouldn't it today? 

      On September 27th, there will be 40 days until the election. Now, I do not feel called, or able to fast this time without food. However, what else can I 'fast' that I have relied on nearly as much as food?

Facebook.
 
   Wow. When was the last day that I was not on facebook? No, it couldn't have been my honeymoon- three years ago? Whew. no. Was it my anniversary exactly a year ago? I can't remember. That's an issue. 

    Starting on September 27th, I will be fasting facebook and intentional election news for these 40 days and devoting more of my time to prayer for our government and for my own heart and relationship with the One Who IS in charge of everything. Feel free to join me if you dare- others in my family are doing fasts as well, ranging from a Daniel fast, (for the spiritually intense) to fasts of games, movies, sweets etc.

Matthew 18:20 : "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” And when God is there, things happen.

    Do I think this will help the good guy win the election? No. Is there even a good guy running? 

    But my life won't be the same, and the Lord will reveal Himself to me and show me how much HE is in control, and that will make all the difference.




   This will be hard....and who knows? Maybe I won't want to come back....