Happy Inauguration Day, Mr. President!

I mean all this in love to my fellow Christians who are throwing a fit over our new president.

Begin Rant:

Personally, I do not understand the people who are "sad" about Bush leaving. I'm certainly not sad, change does not frighten me, it excites me.

Have you not felt God moving so powerfully in all of our lives? Have you so little faith that one man, regardless of how much earthly power he may have, can actually scare you? Is God not bigger than all these things?

I'm excited for change, I'm excited to watch God work through a new leader. Emotions are silly little things that mean nothing in the end. Poo on your emotions! Poo all over them! God is fact, not emotion. His power and control in our country, in our lives, and in our world are not in any way swayed by your emotions. So you didn't vote for Obama. So what? America is one of the few countries in the world where we can vote a man into office and then protest everything he does that we don't like and not get shot for it. Don't be sad because you don't like the man or because you fear someone he is an acquaintance of, that's a waste of time and thought.Fear God and God alone, for He is the only One worthy of your fear. Pray for our new president, pray for this country, pray for the person sitting next to you that you haven't even noticed because you are so busy being sad about a man leaving an office.

Read the first 8 verses of 1 Timothy 2 and then tell me that sadness is an appropriate response to what happened today.

1 Timothy 2:1-8
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.

I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.

I intend no disrespect to anyone in writing this, even though I know some people are not going to like it. Tough.

End Rant.

Watch the Inauguration!

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Heaven will direct it.

Marcellus: Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Horatio: Heaven will direct it.
~from Hamlet by William Shakespeare

In the above quote, Marcellus and Horatio are talking about Hamlet's seeming insanity in allowing the ghost of his father lead him away. Horatio knows that something is wrong, not only with Hamlet and the fact that there is a ghost appearing to him, but with the country. He knows that something must change in order for the country to continue and not be overthrown by their enemies. In saying "Heaven will direct it" he is saying that he's not quite sure how to fix it (although he has already displayed that he has ideas about it and will in the future work to save his beloved Denmark) but he knows that God has Denmark in His hands and will direct its course of action if the leaders allow Him.

"In just a few days, I’ll be voting for Senator Barack Obama in hopes that he will become the next President of the United States. I think he is the best politician in the race who will work to solve issues that divide us and who will try to build a consensus around our shared values, dreams, and ideals."

This is the opening paragraph of the post of Jennifer, a friend of mine. I very much respect her opinion and she has worded this so eloquently that I cannot add to it in any way without detracting from it.

Notice that she says the Obama is the "best politician in the race", not the only politician. I think her wording here is very important because admits that there are other politicians in this race who possibly could work towards solving the issues we now face, but that he is simply the best choice we have.

When I first started thinking about who I was going to vote for, I was on the fence. There are things I agree and disagree with in both the major party's platforms. And in the end, I had to do what Jennifer did, pick the best person. The person who I thought would handle our current situation best, and that is Obama.

Now, I know a majority of my friends, and probably all of my family are going to disagree with me, and that's fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just remember that everyone is entitled to their opinion! I'm not forcing my political views on you and I expect the same courtesy from you. I'm not afraid to talk about my views, but neither will I argue about them with you. I have not now, nor will I ever be the kind of person who argues (if you know me, you know just how non-confrontational I am).

But I am firm on this: I'm voting for Obama because I believe that he is the best politician in the current race to handle our current situation. This doesn't mean that I agree with every single little thing he stands for (see Jennifer's post), it simply means that I believe that he is the best man for the job at this time.