Shut Up, Get Over Yourselves, and Start Talking

As I have pondered the political process these past few weeks, and as I have struggled to make some sense of my own views and frustrations, one thing has been consistent: our nation's polarization is it's biggest problem. As a committed Christ following citizen, and as a parent trying to hear the heart of a child, it has been frustrating to watch and experience as I myself have gotten caught up in this wave. It has been the struggles closest to me that have made me realize (with the help of a couple of co-authors of a book - "Common Ground" by Cal Thomas and Bob Beckel) that the majority of Christ following voters on both sides of the political divide really have common beliefs and goals: the sanctity of human life, reasonable access to healthcare, equal access to a good education, relief of poverty. But as long as we get swept up in the tide and behave like the polarized politicians representing us, all we accomplish is making a lot of noise, and we do a great deal to tarnish our witness. As long as the unbelievers among us see us going right along with the loudest voices - accusing each other of sympathizing with baby killers or of being greedy, uncompassionate powermongers, they won't be seeing Christ in us. I believe what we really need to do is to be still and know that God is God, to seek and listen to His voice and His Word, and then - as I heard on Grey's Anatomy last night, we and our politicians really need to Shut up, get over ourselves, and start talking to find solutions.

Conquering Generational Curses!

My lovely daughter, with the patient prodding and help of her wonderful husband, is learning to conquer the chaos. Yes, she has inherited the curse of clutter from both of her parents. I tend to like to hide my clutter in drawers and closets, but it is still there! Anyway, she and her hubby conquered the piles of her clothes in their bedroom and got them ALL folded or hung and put away! I am so proud of her! I was also inspired by the video on her blog on how to fold a t-shirt - I tried it, it worked, and it was really easy!! So, I thought to myself - I wonder if I can find a video to teach me how to fold my fitted sheets - I am frustrated by that task every time I try it and usually just end up kind of wadding the thing up and flattening it out - doesn't make for a very neat looking closet. I was so excited when I found several videos on YouTube- so I watched a couple of them and now I am the proud owner of a neatly folded fitted sheet in my closet - after 49 years I have a neatly folded fitted sheet - and it was really pretty easy!! YAY!

The Mountains Make My Heart Sing!!!!!

Kim and I went to Colorado to check out Colorado Christian University this past weekend. We had a great time, and yes, Kim loved the school! I just can't describe the feeling I have when I am in the mountains - the most I can say is that they truly make my heart sing! We drove on Thursday (yes, Kansas is in driving distance of the beautiful Colorado mountains - definitely one of my favorite things about living in Kansas), visited the college and played a little on Friday, played all day Saturday, and drove back home on Sunday. The drive takes about 7 1/2 hours - 8 when you add meal and potty breaks. Broken into 2 1/2 hour segments it is kind of like this: the 2 1/2 hours between Wichita and Hays, Kansas is kind of pretty with the farmland and some rolling hills and a really cool and extremely large windmill farm;



the 2 1/2 hours from the Colorado border to Denver or Colorado Springs is pretty as you see the plains begin to roll and then the mountains to pop out; but the 2 1/2 hours in the middle is some of the most boring driving and landscape you can imagine! - FLAT and nearly Treeless and not particularly colorfull. Right after lunch on Thursday that middle segment seemed nearly impossible - lunch in my belly and a perfectly straight, flat, boring road made my eyelids kind of heavy! Thanks to my IPOD and some great music and podcasts, we made it!

I think Kim has posted about the school, so check her blog out for that. http://kimjoythoughts.blogspot.com/

I will just add that it really did seem like a place where a diverse group of young adults are seeking to learn and live the christian life in an incredible Christ-following community. I like it for Kim.

After visiting the school, we drove down to Colorado Springs to play on Friday afternoon and Saturday. We hiked in a park called North Cheyenne Canyon Park, drove to the top of Pike's peak, walked around in amazement at the Garden of the Gods -a park which was given to the city by a family fulfilling their father's wish that the area be "forever free to the public" (It was really incredible) and basically just enjoyed being in the mountains! We also got to shop at Whole Foods Market (one of the places we really miss here in Wichita) and even ate our dinner there Saturday night with a spectacular view of the sun setting over the mountains. Did I mention that I love the mountains? Colorado Springs was really a neat place, and yes, we did drive into the parking lot of Focus on the Family - just to see it, but we didn't make time to go to the visitors center (it was already closed when we drove through the parking lot).

So, that was our weekend adventure. And by the way, I really love the mountains : )