What I Know About the Electoral College

     What I know about the electoral college would fit in a thimble with room left over. The only time anyone gives it a thought is when we elect a president, and usually not even then unless one candidate gets the popular vote and the other wins the electoral points. As was the case in this year's epic battle between the "bully" and the "bitch".  When Hillary's supporters were not busy sobbing or blocking highways, they were calling for the end of the electoral college. I learned enough from Wikipedia to understand the basics about it, but its intent is to make the election process more equitable.
     Anything that does that is good news for Montana. Our population is barely over a million. If elections were decided by popular vote alone, no presidential candidate would have any vested interest in supporting policies beneficial to low population states like Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and the Dakotas. American presidents would be chosen by voters in a dozen mega-cities on the east and west coasts. There must be something in sea water that corrodes minds the way it does metal, because coast dwellers are disproportionately liberal. They are also disproportionately living off the government. Their vested interest would be to support the candidate who promised the most wealth redistribution. Specifically, taking tax money from the industrious and giving it to the indolent.
     So if the electoral college is a flawed system, it fits right in with the rest of our government. I'm going to hold that thought right here in my thimble . . . along with my tears for Hillary.
    

Big Girl Panties

   If this year's election was unlike any other I can remember, this year's aftermath is even stranger. Most of us felt there were no good choices for president, so voting for the "lesser of two evils" was even more necessary than usual. So when, despite all predictions and celebrity endorsements, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton, there was literal wailing and gnashing of teeth from the left leaning. There were also protests, shouting matches and civil disobedience. But not here, where people are much more civilized than in the cities. Although today I saw a lone protestor standing on Main Street with her "Not My President" sign. I thought that took a lot of courage for a couple reasons. For one thing, Kalispell is mostly conservative, second, carrying that sign is like publicly proclaiming "I don't understand how elections work" or "I'm too immature to accept decisions I don't like". If the election had gone the other way, I really can't picture Trump supporters crying or blocking highways.
     When Hillary realized she had lost the election, she put on her big girl panties and accepted defeat. It is time for her supporters to do the same. (Especially since she asked them to.) Their behavior reminds me of my preschoolers at the grocery store check stand throwing a fit if I didn't buy them the toy or candy they wanted. I told them, "If you can't get what you want by being good, you will never get it by being naughty." Or the short version, "You git what you git and you don't throw a fit." The only grounds for protest at this point, would be if someone had been prevented from voting for the candidate of his/her choice. There is a time for supporting your candidate. And there is a time for putting on your big girl panties, accepting what has happened, and getting on with your life. Most of us have had many "Not my president/governor/mayor/etc." experiences in our lifetime. We deal with it. Life goes on.
     I did not know which candidate God would use to fulfill his purposes for our nation, and (this time) I did not try to tell Him what to do (although my husband did). But I wonder if, after so many years of playing the race card under Obama, God wanted to spare our country from further polarization of Hillary using the gender card. I have no problems with a woman president, but the presidency is no place for the affirmative action agenda of using under-represented, but under-qualified, minorities. Unfortunately, those were our only choices. Yes, billionaires are a minority too. Election day was our chance to speak up, now it is time to shut up and grow up. And for coping with chaos, nothing trumps humor.

Fruit Inspectors

  

The Christian Mingle Inspector..

     If I have done it correctly, this blog should link to the above video that I enjoyed on Facebook  It humorously points out the clipboard criteria by which we judge other Christians (and churches).  Believers have been beaten to death with the verse "Judge not lest you be judged", mostly by unbelievers. And they are right, if in judging we look down on others as if we were superior. Us Christians / Them Sinners, when the truth is Us Christian Sinners. But the Bible also says, the spiritual man judges all things and to discern the validity of a teaching by the teacher's fruit. So we are not judges, but we can be fruit inspectors. Genuine faith changes your choices. So let's review what fruit is.

   Fruit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
   Fruit is not:

• Appearance:   The Biblical principle is not to judge by outward appearance (1 Sam 16:7, Jn 7:24), but that is 180 degrees opposite of how we are wired. We love to judge based on how people are dressed, hair length/style/color. And the current trend of tattoos and piercings make our job of judging that much easier. We are also to be focused on our character more than outward beauty.
• Clothing:  This is part of appearance, but it has it's own separate principle, modesty. Unless God is going to appear on a mountain top, even cleanliness is not required. Jesus ministered in the midst of messy people. There is no Biblical dress standard aside from not being overly focused on clothing. If suits and dresses are the standard, Jehovah Witnesses are good Christians.
• Music style:  There is no Biblical standard, but from the instruments listed, Jewish music was a lot spunkier than many Christians consider proper. I am a Christian who prefers wooden instruments and music written in 3/4 time, but I don't presume that is God's standard. The principle is whether what you listen to draws you closer to or further from God. That which is not of faith is sin. (Rom. 14:23)
• Books/movies/media:  The same principle as above applies. Selecting radio stations, movies, books etc. from a Christian genre may lessen the danger of worldly influence, but we should apply Biblical discernment to both secular and sacred media. For myself, listening to too much news talk programming, even if it's Christian based, makes me doubt God's sovereignty and have difficulty obeying Phil. 4:8. When that starts to happen, I shut it off.  Well informed worry is still sin.
• A church like mine:  The principle to apply for selecting a home church is that it faithfully teaches, and upholds the standards of, the Bible. Period. The rest is preference. We are blessed to live in a country where there are more varieties of churches than Baskin-Robbins flavors. But we need to remember, once we are safely ensconced in our preferred church home, that worship is not one style fits all.
• Trappings:  Bumper stickers/logos/art/etc.can be good reminders to us and testimony to unbelievers. But if we do not display the fruit of the Spirit as listed above, we should probably take down the trappings. No witness at all is better than a poor one. Unbelievers and our children can spot hypocrisy from a quarter mile away.              

          If the video points out the humor of judging by shallow standards, the gospels point out the tragedy. Christ himself didn't pass inspection. And in judging Him, his judges condemned themselves. If we are judged by the standard with which we judge others (Mt. 7:2), I want to be as kind as possible. Fruit inspectors also have to pass inspection.

Knock Three Times

     I have noticed that when God has a message He wants me to get, He usually sends it three times. Instead of voice mail, text, and e-mail, it might be BSF, church and Christian radio. It's as if God thinks I'm slow on the uptake--which would be insulting if it wasn't true. Lately, what He has reinforced is that our prodigals might not walk close to the Lord in our lifetimes. In three very separate incidents, I have heard Christian mothers of grown children express this, along with their willingness to accept that if necessary. Since we saw God intervene so directly with our prodigal son recently, I am hoping the changes will come before he marries and has children, so that he can make wise choices. But right now it is enough that he has given his drinking, which consumed a large part of his life, to God.
     For the first time in 15 years, our son feels a flicker of faith. As tempting as it is to throw a truckload of theology and large logs of expectations on that spark, trying to make up for lost time, that would only put the flame out. Spiritual fire, just like real fire, begins with kindling and gentle blowing until is it gradually able to handle more. That is what the Spirit continues to do in my own life, and to try to accelerate my son's growth for my own satisfaction, is to put my schedule before God's. God is sovereign and can grow  faith in spite of our interference. He just shouldn't have to. Smothering faith is Satan's job and I don't want to be Satan's little helper.
      So while I wait, I cling to three unshakeable truths from John six:
      1. No one comes to Christ unless the Father draws him.     vs. 44
      2. All that the Father gives Jesus will come to Him.        vs. 37
      3. None of those given will be lost, all will be resurrected.    vs. 39

     I can rest in this because we are not saved by our own volition, but by the irresistible Holy Spirit. Would we even want a God who could begin to draw someone to Christ but not finish? Like it's too hard? Like He didn't know we would be so difficult? God is drawing our son in His time and His way. It's not about Tracy. It's not about me. It's about God. My job is to pray, obey and get out of God's way. I don't want to find out how hard God can knock.