Changing Times

It is a season of change.

Each year the turning of the leaves is God's gift to us to remind us that the things we take for granted are not forever. The trees I pass each day with little notice were brilliant with their fall foliage this morning. From hot red to orange to yellow, the leaves were shimmering as the rising sun reflected off of the morning dew. In a brief time, they will turn brown, drop to the ground, and be but a memory as I pass the naked tree trunks throughout the winter, waiting for that first green hint of spring.

And, what I see in the natural is also happening here at the Texas Capitol. This week we closed down the office of the state representative for whom I have worked for the past nine years. We packed away and sent to storage the mementoes of his 18 years of service. It was a bittersweet time. On the one hand, anyone who faithfully serves in the Texas House for 18 years deserves a time of rest. On the other hand, a good and godly man chose not to return. He will be missed.

As we took down pictures, cleared out desks and appropriately routed files, it was a time of remembrance.

There were the Far Side cartoons I had taped to my wall that reminded me of the session we used Gary Larson's humor to get us through the tough times. By the end of session, any one in the office could say, "Beatings will continue until moral improves," and get everyone out of the doldrums. Praise God for the team He brought together and the humor we shared.

There were the files on eminent domain and informed consent for abortion that literally consumed my life for years. They were a reminder that we are not leaving things the way we found them. God could have chosen anybody to fight the battle to protect innocent lives and private property rights. But I praise Him because He let me have a small part in it.

As I cleared out my desk, I found notes and letters of encouragement from people over the years and re-read each of them. (I only keep the nice ones.) Yes, policy has changed during my time here, but more importantly, I have had the privilege of touching people's life. I Praise God for the people and the relationships He has given me.

The pictures came down, packed safely away. Books were packed away. The techs came and took the computers. Movers came and took the furniture. The place I had called home for the past two years was stripped of all things that made it a refuge and turned back into a naked office - nothing but walls and carpet. I closed the door behind me for the last time, stuck my head in each of the neighbor's offices to say, "see ya!" and walked away.

And started working on a project for the new state representative I will be working with in the new session.

Lord, thank you for the seasons and the opportunities you give us in our lives. May we always be aware that the ending of  one season is merely the beginning of another. 

His Will Be Done

Just when you thought it was safe to start listening to talk radio again, the race for the Texas Speaker of the House tumbled into full swing.

For those of you not in the daily grind we call the Texas Legislature, here is some helpful information and background to help frame this discussion. The Texas House has 150 members chosen from districts throughout the state. On the opening day of session (January 11, 2011 this time), those 150 members vote to choose one of their own to serve as the Speaker of the House. The Speaker presides over the daily happenings of the House, makes committee appointments, and generally sets the tone and direction of the House. Next to the Governor and Lt. Governor, the Speaker of the House is probably one of the most influential persons in Texas politics.

Now, for the history lesson. The Texas House was dominated for years by a Democratic majority. In 2003, Tom Craddick became the first Republican Speaker since re-construction. Prior to the legislative session in 2009, Representative Joe Straus from San Antonio formed a coalition of mostly Democrats and fewer Republicans to challenge and defeat Speaker Craddick to become the second Republican Speaker in recent history.

And, that brings us up to current events. When Speaker Straus became Speaker, the Republicans held a small majority 77-73 ish in the Texas House. After last Tuesday, the slit is 98 to 51 in favor of the Republicans with one seat open due to the death of Rep. Edmund Kuempel. There is at least one Republican contender who is challenging Speaker Straus and a strong push from grassroots groups to affect the outcome of the race.

Truth be known, there are arguments that reasonable men (and women) can make for supporting either of these candidates. In the interest of full disclosure, I actually do have a personal preference in the race. But, my choice doesn't matter. My heart's cry is for the Lord's will to be done. In the event that you need a written invitation to intrude into business you may not consider your own, consider this it. I invite you to pray for your leaders in the Texas House of Representatives. Pray that they will fear God more than man. Pray that they will follow their consciences without regard to opinion polls or offers of positions of influence - from either Speaker candidate. Pray that all candidates will be able to conduct themselves above reproach as they seek this responsibility of leading their peers.

I know no better prayer for the circumstances than the one Jesus taught His disciples:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth (in the Texas House) as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Amen.

Go Vote!

Today is the day.

If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2Chron. 7:14

Lord, have mercy on our nation.

Am I there Yet?

My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121:2


Election day is tomorrow. For better or for worse, after the votes are counted, we will know who the players will be in the political realm for the next two years. 


For the past week I have not posted a devotional. I have been in East Texas getting a feel for the district that is home to the state representative, God willing, I will be working for in the next session. As we have met people in coffee shops and Chamber luncheons, in churches and on the street, I have been reminded that Austin, the seat of government in our state, is not what makes us special. It is the people who send their representatives to Austin who are special. My theory that Austin is 40 square miles surrounded by reality has been re-affirmedl. As has my belief that representatives to Austin and Washington should be required to spend the majority of their  time at home in order to provide the necessary inoculation against the dread disease of  "government knows best."


When this series of devotionals started, my goal was to take to heart 2 Chronicles 7:14 and endeavor to "humble myself." It seems that the difficulties I have with humility were shared by Benjamin Franklin. In his own quest for humility, he noted:


In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had compleatly overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.


So, 40 days into my quest to humble myself, I can truthfully tell you that the end result is a realization of how far short of the goal I continue to fall. Like the kids on the family vacation, I keep asking myself, "Am I there, yet?" But, humility is not a 40 day process. It is a lifetime process. Andrew Murray, in his book Humility reminds us:


The command is clear: humble yourself. That does not mean that it is your work to conquer and cast out the pride of your nature, and to form within yourself the lowliness of the holy Jesus. No, this is God's work; the very essence of that exaltation, wherein He lifts you up into the real likeness of the beloved Son. What the command does mean is this: take every opportunity of humbling yourself before God and man. In the faith of the grace that is already work in in you; in the assurance of the more grace for victory that is coming; up to the light that conscience each time flashes upon the pride of the heart and its workings; notwithstanding all there may be of failure and falling, stand persistently as under the unchanging command; humble yourself. Accept with gratitude everything that God allows from within or without, from friend or enemy, in nature or in grace, to remind you of your need of humbling, and to help you to it. Reckon humility to be indeed the mother-virtue, your very first duty before God, the one perpetual safeguard of the soul, and set your heart upon it as the source of all blessing. 


Lord, help me to remember to do my part to enable you to do your part. 

We Have Met the Enemy

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and will turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Ever so often I drag myself out of my comfort zone of policy and venture into the world of politics. Hence, I found myself at a political rally over the weekend. Here was a group of people, an obvious answer to my prayers over the past 18 years, that are awakening from their complacency and determined to make a difference in our government. It was good to see the enthusiasm and spunk of the Texans who are fed up with the status quo and ready to make a difference.

Wandering through the group, I was reminded how differently people look at the same circumstances. And, Jerry was reminded why he does not let me out alone in groups of people who may say ill-advised things about issues they do not understand.

There was a table at the rally promoting the defeat of all members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The talking points were correct:

1. The House belongs to the people, not those who are elected to represent them.
   
2. Power corrupts.
   
3. Members have become entrenched.
   

I could have just as easily passed by the table with no comment. Instead I asked why they wanted to defeat those legislators who were doing a good job.

"Because we need a change." (Change was what we got in the last election. How's that working for you?)

"Term limit them all because we don't need career politicians. Let the people replace them."

That prompted my Term Limits 101 discussion.

1. Every Congressman is elected for two years.
   
2. His term limits are determined by the vote of his constituents.
   
3. If they do not like the way he votes, then all they have to do is vote him out.
   

"No," they objected, "the power is balanced in favor of the politician. The average citizen doesn't know what is going on."

And, whose fault is that? If the average citizen does not know what is going on, why do you trust them to vote to replace the politicians who are currently in place. Instead of having some good elected officials who know what is going on, you would have us replace everybody so that there would be no experience in place?

The truth of the matter is, the situation we have in our seats of government are a symptom of the problem. The problem is that we have abdicated our responsibility as citizens to elect men and women of virtue. We have rewarded those who vote earmarks for our communities with re-election. We are getting exactly what we tolerate. Term-limiting an elected official for doing what we reward him for does not make sense. It makes even less sense to term-limit those few who do the right thing in spite of our expectations.

It is like the Pogo comic strip that declares, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Vote the bums out? Absolutely if their voting record warrants it. But, don't expect that to solve the problem if you continue to fail in your responsibility to know who you vote for. And think about it, isn't it much nicer to know that you have control over the source of the problem (turn from your wicked ways) than to blame it all on someone else?

Lord, help us to see our situation from Your perspective and to take appropriate action.

 

 

 

Trust

Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them. They cried to You, and were delivered; they trusted in You and were not ashamed. Psalm 22:4-5

Eleven days until the election. Campaign ads are flooding the airways. The skeptic in me leads me to disbelieve most of what I hear. In the past 18 years I have learned to watch a politician's actions, rather than put a lot of confidence in their words. And, if I, who am surrounded by these people on a daily basis have difficulty sifting out the truth, how much more difficult must it be for those who only engage during the election cycle.

And yet, my hope remains high.

Someone recently told me that they were afraid for our nation - that the people were waking up too late and too slowly to save this great bastion of freedom. Ah, you of little faith. Remember your history. God loves to come in when most have given up all hope and deliver His people. When God led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt they weren't on the road, they had reached the destination of slavery and been there for 400 years.

The circumstances then were not too difficult for God.

And, they aren't too difficult for Him now.

Lord, we unashamedly cry out to You in our time of crisis. We trust You to deliver us.

Holding Grudges

"For is you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Matt. 6:14

Many years ago both my husband and I worked for the same company. We had a boss, who was also a personal friend, who used to say that he would rather see Jerry mad every day than me mad once. At the time, Jerry had a quick temper. It didn't take a lot to set him off, but he cooled off quickly, also. I, on the other hand, did not get angry easily or quickly, but boy could I make you suffer when I did get angry. My cold logic and sharp tongue could cut someone to pieces before they ever realized they were in a danger zone. It was not pretty.

I was also particularly adept at holding grudges. I think my record was the six years I refused to have any contact with my father. The reasons for the breach in our relationship were real, but irrelevant. They did not warrant my response. Shortly after my salvation, the Holy Spirit convicted me and the Lord required that I make amends. People with cold logic and sharp tongues do not have an easy time eating humble pie. But, the result was a restored relationship and a grandfather for my children.

That event, coupled with the unexpected deaths of several close family members, trained me to keep accounts with the people who are close to me up to date. If there is an issue, it needs to be quickly resolved. If the fault is mine, confession, repentance and amends need to be made quickly. If another offends me, the offense needs to be shaken off, forgiven, and forgotten. It is easier said than done, but the more often it is done, the easier it becomes.

Fast forward to current news events of this week:

1. "Have you no shame?" It is the question one congressional candidate asked another as his commitment to his faith was questioned. He then refused to shake the other person's hand after a debate. (Note to self: people will judge you by your actions, not your accusations.) If I want to prove to someone that I am firm in my Christian faith, turning the other cheek might be more appropriate than snubbing the accuser.
   
2. The wife of a sitting Supreme Court Justice called a woman who made an accusation against her husband during his nomination process 20 years ago. If reconciliation is the point, so be it. If an apology is the point, turn it loose. Forgiveness is something you do for yourself, not someone else. You do not need an explanation, understanding, or apology to forgive someone for something they have done to you. (And, don't even go down the road of, "you don't understand my circumstances." Of course I don't understand your circumstances, but I learned this lesson over forgiving the man who murdered my mother. Still want to trade stories?)
   

The bottom line, life is too short to hold grudges. Examine yourself and see if there are any accounts that need to be settled in your personal relationships. Letting the past go and choosing not to pick up new offenses is like losing weight - everything around you seems better.

Lord, bring to mind any accounts in my relationships that need to be addressed. Help me to be quick to apologize and quick to forgive.