Prop 8

I still struggle with Prop 8. I agree that marriage should be between a man and a woman. I fear we face that fine line of forcing our beliefs on other people, attempting to take away freedom in the name of Christ. I once heard a wise man (Matthew Brown) say, "Freedom is always filthy; People are free to interpret morality, deny Christianity, indulge sexually, be idiots, and experiment chemically ."

There are a lot of things that are taught in school that I don't agree with; evolution, sex before marriage is okay, all religions lead to the same destination. I was not taught evolution as theory. It will be my place as a parent to train my child in the ways of the Lord, not the school system.

Interesting Point - I overheard someone say "If you are so interested in protecting marriage, why don't you outlaw divorce?" I am not in favor of this, I just thought it was interesting.

My Last 2Cents on the Election

In the past few months, I have heard many people (most claiming Christianity) say “I’m not racist, but . . .” If you aren’t racist, why do you have to let everyone know? Wouldn’t your actions and statement speak for themselves? Now most of these comments have stemmed from the recent election. I even overheard one person say “What will the rest of the world think if we put a black man in office?” Phrases like “They were interviewing people on the news and I couldn’t even understand what those black people were saying” were overheard at lunch. I am very sad to think that someone would not vote for a candidate based on the color of his skin. Or to hear someone’s only reason for not voting for someone was due to race.

I was starting to get really mad when I left work yesterday realizing that people still think this way. And still teach their children to cultivate this view of hatred. This caused me to review my basic American history in my head. I was a history major in college, but hadn’t reviewed it in quite some time. A girlfriend and I were talking about the economy and how America goes back and forth with when they want Congress to get involved. It made me think about how America votes tends to vote Republican in office when things are stable and going well. I think the nation tends to pull a “hands off” attitude with government, coupled with a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. Which I think is why Bush was reelected; coupled with the fear factor of post-9/11. But when our nation is in crisis, we tend to vote for a Democrat, looking for someone to involve the government to come in and fix a problem. Thus some of our nation’s greatest presidents were democrats; FDR and JFK. Thus, most people who didn’t vote for Obama most likely did so because of party lines.

I am furious that race is even an issue when discussing a potential candidate. However, I don’t think the fact that America just elected an African-America man can be ignored. It shows change and progress for our country. It opens up Washington to people who maybe never thought they could make it. So to see Oprah Winfrey cry, and predominately black campuses erupt in cheers, made me tear up a little (even if I rolled my eyes a little at Jesse Jackson). I would be jumping around about the progree of women if Palin was in the white house.

As a disclaimer, I didn’t vote for a Presidential candidate. I did, however, vote on everything else! I still go back and forth between who I would have preferred in office. I’m one of those undecided voters the media kept talking about. I tend to vote a hands off approach putting more responsibility back on the state. But if Obama can get troops home it’s better for Kevin’s job, taking money aware from the war and putting it back into the other contracts, hopefully allowing the Ontario branch to remain open. And I see many areas, including the economy, where federal regulation is needed.

But it is over. No matter who is in office, we have a wonderful country where I still have the freedom to live and worship as I choose. People who say “our country is going to Hell in a hand basket” (as was overheard on Wednesday morning) have most likely never lived somewhere where their freedom is limited, and have probably never been discriminated against. Now my responsibility is to pray for my president (elect) and the people that surround him. Pray for his family and the difficulties that lie ahead. Pray that his marriage will remain strong as the stress levels begins to rise. Pray that he appoints people that will advise wisely and protect our country.

Decision 08 - Thursday Small Group

So we, my Sandals Thursday Night Group, have really been challenged by the current sermon series “Decision 08”. We talked last week about why we don’t vote, and even deeper, why we don’t care. When did America become so apathetic to who is in office? Personally, I think it may be a result of post-Vietnam “Conflict” with many American’s feeling their voice just wasn’t heard, and has thus passed down to make us apathetic. We never talked about voting in my home growing up. This isn’t to slight my parents, but only vaguely remember my dad wearing the I Voted sticker. Maybe they voted absentee. Either way, I don’t ever remember them discussing any ballot issues. No Rock The Vote bus ever came to my high school or college. We never discussed candidates in my political science courses. We talked a lot about the "Hanging Chad” incident of 2000, but that didn’t have anything to do with who was better qualified. Sure, there were dorm debates on the presidential candidates, but I have to admit, those guys were hard core to the right or left and always had something to say. Even now I feel like it is difficult to find someone with whom to have an intelligent conversation without someone telling me that a particular candidate is the anti-Christ, or just the same old white haired politician, or “What will the world think of us if we put a black man in office?” Yes, I actually heard someone say that this year. So when I tried to bring up the argument that a senator and house representative choice was just as important as a president choice, I was basically shot down as un-American. I don’t mind healthy discussion in favor of either presidential candidate, as long as it is an intelligent and educated conversation.


Matt Brown really challenged me to think about why I am not an educated voter. I disagree that not voting is a sin, but I do agree this is a privilege I shouldn’t take for granted. There are so many other countries where people are fighting for the right to vote. And as a woman – I have taken total disregard for the women who fought for suffrage; 1920 really wasn’t that long ago! Did you know woman in Switzerland were not granted the right to vote in a federal election until 1973? And there are still many other countries remaining today where women, and men, can’t vote.


Kevin and I were talking a little this Sunday after church about how well designed our government system was designed. Yes, we have flaws, and people work the system. But I must admit, the idea of checks and balances is pretty cool. The fact the laws must be passed by both houses of Congress and the President. Just look at the way Congress is set up; the Senate makes every sate equal with two votes/representatives per state, and the House sets the equality with representatives based on the population. Does anyone know how many districts California has? Fifty-three! That means California has 53 votes on the house floor! By the way, if you live in Riverside, you house rep is Ken Calvert.


In light of all this, our Thursday Night group has decided to research and share the current propositions on the California Ballot. There are 12. So for the next three weeks before the election, each couple will present what a yes and no vote on each proposition would mean. Trust me; I will keep you updated on what I have learned.