The Good Life

Recently, Dave and I had the good fortune to spend a day with our friend Ryan Siebert.  He invited us out to his homestead in Protem, Mo. and treated us to a day on the lake in his family's ski boat.  And what a pretty boat it was. 

 

We got to eat lunch (turkey sandwiches, Sun Chips, cookies and grapes) on the water and just talk about life.  In my humble opinion, there are few sensations that compete with cruising on the water on a beautiful day with the wind blowing through your hair.  And in this case, Kylie Minogue was playing in the background (thanks Ryan).

 

Another highlight of the day was getting to meet Molly, the Siebert family's Golden Retriever.  She was so sweet and cute and cuddly.  She made me think that someday I'll have a Molly of my own. 

 

As if the day wasn't good enough, we got to go back to Branson that evening and hang out with the Wyatts, two people I wouldn't trade for the world.

 

For me, friends, the outdoors and good food add up to equal the good life.  I got to live the good life this past weekend.

This isn't a political blog but...

I am not usually one to begin a discussion on politics, but I feel more strongly than usual about the importance of this election year and what it will mean for our country.  I hope you will take the time to read the excerpts below taken from Dr. James Dobson's (founder of Focus on the Family) October newsletter as you consider who to vote for on November 4.  Here are a few sections of the letter that I felt were most important/compelling: 

• Let's start with the need to elect a pro-family, pro-life President. The importance of this objective cannot be overstated. Between 2009 and 2012, there will likely be two or more opportunities for the President to nominate new justices to the Supreme Court. Some court watchers say there could be as many as four resignations. That alone should give us serious pause as we consider for whom to cast our votes. It will likely affect the definition of marriage, religious freedom, and the protection (or lack thereof) of life in the womb.

 

• Senator Obama's record is more liberal than that of any other Democrat in the Senate. For example, when he was a state senator in Illinois, he voted four times in three years against legislation that would have saved the lives of babies that managed to survive the abortion process. The U.S. Senate subsequently passed similar legislation called The Born-Alive Infant Protection Act by unanimous consent.6 (Obama was not a U.S. Senator at the time.) State Senator Obama was chairman of the committee that opposed this protection of babies, and in 2001 and 2002 was the only legislator who rose to argue against the Illinois Born Alive Act. To further underscore Senator Obama's radical devotion to abortion rights, he has promised that "the first thing I'd do as president" would be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act. The FOCA is a devastating piece of legislation that would overturn nearly every local, state, and federal anti-abortion law passed in the last 40 years.  In fact, it's so broadly written that legal analysts suggest the bill may prevent institutions and physicians from refusing to provide abortion services by invoking the conscience clause.

 

• As for Governor Palin's qualifications to be Vice President of the United States and to assume the mantle of President, should that ever become necessary, she is much better suited for the job than the talking heads on the liberal Left would have you believe. She came out of nowhere to win the Alaskan gubernatorial race against a powerful incumbent. While in office, she bravely fought widespread corruption—including that within her own party—in the face of great opposition. Govenor Palin's critics suggest that her experience as mayor of a "small town" is somehow a liability, but it is an asset. In fact, her time as Mayor of Wasilla and then as Governor of Alaska gives her a greater degree of executive experience than Senator Barack Obama can claim. Her qualifications to be Vice President, I would submit, exceed those of Senator Barack Obama, who spent only 143 working days in the U.S. Senate prior to announcing his run for President.

  He authored no significant legislation during that time.

• Senator Obama's selection of fellow liberal Democrat Joseph Biden (Del.) is also extremely revealing. While the National Journal ranked Obama the most liberal Senator last year, Senator Biden was ranked 3rd on their list—just ahead of Vermont's Bernie Sanders, a self-avowed socialist.15 While the Senator of 36 years from Delaware stands in blatant opposition to the pro-family movement, many of you will remember him from his vociferous opposition to several of our finer Supreme Court justices, namely, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Alito and Thomas.

• It is likely, say the pundits, that both the House and the Senate in the 111th Congress will still be controlled by Democrats. If that party also takes the White House, a wave of anti-family, pro-homosexual legislation is almost guaranteed to pass in 2009. The bills put forward and advanced this year by Democrats reveal where they want to take the country. For example, they inserted hate crimes language into the 2008 Defense Authorization Bill, but were forced to remove it in conference, again under the threat of veto.

  While in the Illinois Senate, Senator Obama voted for a bill authorizing "comprehensive" sex education beginning in kindergarten. 

  Large portions of the agenda promoted by homosexual activists will also be enacted. The implications for a federal hate crimes law are clear. People speaking against homosexuality have already been prosecuted under hate crimes laws both in the United States and abroad. If a federal hate crimes law passes, there will be little to prevent the government from endeavoring to control and curtail religious speech, especially from the pulpit. It is entirely possible that a pastor could be charged with inducing a federal hate crime simply by preaching from one of the many biblical passages that address homosexuality.

• Congressional Democrats will also seek to pass the Employment Nondiscrimination Act, meaning businesses will be forced to accept and condone homosexuality —and possibly transgenderism—in making employment decisions. Further, business owners, including religious businesses, will not be able to make hiring and firing decisions based on their religious convictions. Earlier this year, Senator Barack Obama said, "I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepherd Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment Nondiscrimination Act."

 

Also, I know that Obama's claim that "95% of Americans will recieve tax cuts" if he is elected sounds very appealing since pretty much everyone reading this blog is probably making less than 200K per year, which means we would qualify for those cuts.  In addition, on the surface "universal healthcare" has a nice ring to it, but before you jump on the Obama bandwagon, please read this very informative article by Ken Blackwell (no, it's not from a conservative website).

 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/09/obamas_patriotic_tonic.html

 

I am not trying to be annoying or preachy.  I just want to encourage everyone to be well-informed voters and to prayerfully consider your choice.  Whatever decision we make is going to determine the kind of country our children and grandchildren are raised in.  Obviously, no candidate is perfect, but I really believe that there is a lot at stake this election.  Read up and and don't take your decision lightly.