Strong Decision Makers No More

Here in Colorado budgets are tightening, and many politicians are having to make some very difficult decisions. But it seems that many politicians are not going to be able to make those decisions. A good example close to me is the school district that I work in as a law enforcement officer has a nearly forty million dollar short fall to make up. The School Board had put out a list of schools that were potentially going to be closed. The School Board took public comment and researched each of the schools. There seemed a good chance that two even three of the schools on the list were going to be closed. But in the end only one school was marked for closure. And even the closure of that one school didn't even cover one tenth of the amount of money needed to make up the short fall. There is a strong sense that the School Board bowed to public outrage over the closure list by not closing more schools.

Why didn't the School Board close more school? Surely, they realize that they are going to have to come back the list of school again this year. The School Board knows that there will have to be cuts in the budget somewhere. They just aren't strong enough to make those cuts, yet.

That seems to be the re-occurring theme of American politic, now. There is plenty of harsh political rhetoric but no actions to back up the words. The health care overhaul that we were promised looks to be stalled in Congress, and if it ever comes out of Congress chances are it will do little to nothing to cuts costs for anyone. Strong decision are required to make changes in the world right now. Those decisions are not going to be popular. Someone will lose out. Whether those people are the controlling interests of today or the generations that come after. At times, I wonder why I participate in the political process at all. What does my vote count when the men and women whom I vote for become yellow bellied. They play to the coward in the hopes that coward will carry them through the next election. But playing to the coward means no problems get fixed. Someone needs to stand up and make things work not because he or she wants to get re-elected but because it's fixing something that has been broken for too long.

Thoughts A Rambling

We took the kids to a hockey game this Wednesday. We got the tickets for free from a foundation we are working with to get my son a companion dog because of his Asperger's Syndrome. It was the first major sporting event that we have been to as a family in a long time. I will treasure the memory of the game for a long time to come. It was one of the first times that I felt like we were acting like a family. It seems funny to say that since we have been "acting" as a family for so long. I think the difference comes in the heart. We "act" like a family to get through the day or get through the holidays so that people around us don't see how tenuous our family is held together. I think many families "act." Modern life is fragile. We can barely hold ourselves together let alone a happy family.

So when do we stop "acting" and start being a family. For me it comes in enjoying to the fullest those little things about life. A funny day at the park, a good workout, or a night of passionate love. All these things are themselves whole new realms of experience that we can hold dear to our hearts. We just need to live in the moment of that event. God says to let tomorrow worry about itself. Seize today for God and for yourself. No one regrets anything more than those memories wasted or not fully enjoyed. Time will come when there aren't anymore memories to make in this world. Don't regret having wasted even a second that God gave you today.

The Bar Set High- A worry free life

I had originally wanted to write this blog on a NPR interview that I heard near the end of 2009. The blog idea was that I took issue with the idea of "the Dude" from the Big Lebowski as a Christ figure. You can follow this link above and decide for yourself. I think that we too often let the Christ figures in life be "good" men and not "perfect" like Christ truly was in his lifetime. But that is not the point of this blog.

In church today, we spoke of the things that we get when we live the life of the new covenant. One concept that was brought up that spoke to me was the idea that we are free from worry. The Lord knows that I struggle with worry. I have had times of near insanity worrying over the finances of my family. I struggle still to look at the numbers and believe that I am not one cent away from total destitution. But in the new year we try new ways of life. So to that end, I want to live a life free from worry. This doesn't mean that I will not plan or budget. It means living outside the numbers. Experience should have taught me by now that the numbers never add up with God. God can work in everything for his good. Example: My family recently landed free hockey tickets this week. Tickets that are way outside our budget, but still God wanted to give us this gift. With that example lifting my spirits here is to a year lived free from worry. Time for you to think about what your living for in 2010.