This video says all I can think of.
http://www.youtube.com/user/divajc#p/u/14/28KppgdX4qc
Love and music,
Diva JC
PEACE AND COMPASSIONAnyone who knows me is aware that "Peace" could be my middle name. Peace, love, and joy show up together in three of my songs. Love or peace show up in several others. When, I sign off on my letters or e-mails, one of more of these words are usually there. I've sent out "peace quotes" by the hundreds. When my album, “Among Friends” came out, a local paper did a story on me and titled it “Peaceful Breeze.” I think most would say I'm a peaceful person, who promotes peace within and world peace. So recently, when two young women arrived to look at an apartment for rent, I was delighted to see one of them carrying a handbag with a peace symbol and wearing a sweatshirt with the word 'peace ' on the sleeve, peace symbols front and back, and also the words "LOVE ROCKS." Obviously, we had something in common, but there was one other thing.. We shared the same nickname—Nikki. That was mine for forty years until I adopted "Breeze" as the one that seemed a better fit. Nikki was the name given to me by an Austrian skier, who introduced me to the sport of skiing, and still is the name on forty-five of forty-six publications. "Nikki" will always be a part of my history. It's still in some classrooms around this country and a few others. It's even archived on the Internet along with my maiden name of Bryson and my married name of Schreiner.Nikki and I discussed the reasons why peace and justice were so important to us and how our parents, teachers, and friends might have influenced us. We noted some experiences in our growing up years that also had their effect on our world view. We agreed that peace first needs to be in our own hearts before we can bring it to others. Then, Nikki pointed to her friend, Sophie, and said, "SHE only wants to change the world!"Sophie is an enthusiastic young woman, who, like me and many others, wants to change the world. She is one who has compassion for those who hurt and wonders why everyone doesn't have it, tool I guess you could say she and I also have some things in common. She, too, is a skier, as I was at her age, now coming down from ski territory to live near the beach.I saw myself again when I was first discovering the world outside my sheltered childhood in Los Angeles County, back up on the mountain making friends with skiers from South America and Europe, and getting a larger vision of how much we all truly are "one."There was passion, commitment, and optimism in the room as we shared our visions about the way things ought to be. I could not help but attribute both their hopefulness and mine to the fact that we now have a president who also wants to change the world. He, too, is committed to peace, love, justice and all that's good. He helps us feel that, given time and effort, all things are possible.It will be a joy to have these new friends as neighbors.Breeze BrysonMay 20, 2009
I recently wrote a positive e-mail to all my friends and family letting them know I have my reasons for supporting Obama. I'm not some mindless college kid following a trend, but am really invested in this thing. The response has been great! From Republican and Democrat alike. I'm glad I did it, you should too!
Here's what I sent maybe it can inspire your own:
Hello Everyone,I hope you will read this; I will try to be brief. I have been doing some volunteering lately for the BYU Democrats and especially for Barack Obama’s Campaign for Change. A key point in the campaign’s philosophy is that we make sure we share with everyone our personal story for why we support whom we support. It’s important to me that everyone know I’m not behind Obama because I’m young and impressionable but because I feel that we as Americans have a vested interest in seeing this man become President.I’m a junior at BYU majoring in Middle East Studies with the goal of one day serving the United States as a Foreign Service Officer. Diplomacy to me is key to American security. Soldiers are a precious resource, they’re individuals with husbands and wives and families who love them, and should be used only as a last line of defense. Senator Obama understands the need to use diplomacy first and warfare last. America has lost too much credibility on the world stage doing the reverse. I want my boss to be someone who understands that important balance.Second, Kennedy encouraged his countrymen to “ask not what your country can do for you [but to] ask what you can do for your country.” The reason that statement lives on almost half a century later is because it’s an emboldening principle, an ideal of American civic virtue. After 9/11, despite the fact that we as nation felt a huge swell of solidarity, few outside of the military were asked to sacrifice much of anything, we were asked to shop; that was a wasted opportunity. Obama will build-up programs like the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps and Teach for America, programs that encourage our best and brightest to give back to the nation that gave them so many opportunities. Educated people make countries stronger, and help with tuition in return for helping the country only makes sense.Third, from just a personal viewpoint, when Obama says he believes in every American’s potential and that America’s brightest days are still ahead, I believe him. All I did was give the campaign my name, my number and a pledge to volunteer and they gave me a list of people to talk with. For those people I was the voice of the Obama Campaign, even though Barack Obama has no idea who I am. Yet because of his beginnings as a community activist he entrusts millions of us to be his ears and voice rather than rely on something maybe more accurate and infallible (like robo-calls). To me that spells trust and real confidence in the American people.So those are just some very simple reasons why I’m so excited to see Barack Obama become our next president. I don’t think he’s a Messiah, he’s not a pop-culture icon for me, but he does give me hope for the future and he does make me excited to be an American and to represent this incredible country abroad. I’m linking this to Obama’s Blueprint for Change, which sums up the campaign’s position on most of the major issues (and some you might not expect). I know my few little reasons won’t apply to some of your major concerns so I’m encouraging you to take a look at the ones that do.And if you’ve already made your decision for McCain I think that’s great. I hope you won’t mind getting this from me, I’m so tired of partisanship and I hope we can still be friends (politics isn’t worth dividing friendships over). One day the time of wars and nations will be over and all we’ll have left is our friends and families, so I hope we can all keep our priorities straight ;) Thanks for reading.Much love,Andrew
Tired of trying to convince your radical friends to vote for Obama? Tell them a vote for Barack is vote against racism, the nation's most dangerous pollutant. I'll bet that you can break through their iron-clad class arguments and strong-willed independence with the logic that voting for Barack Obama will change things more in diluting and ultimately neutralizing this poison than a wasted vote on a third-party candidate, even one of color.
OK, OK, I've heard the lines about principles and parties and people and profits. But the single most significant reason that the peoples' progress in this country has been retarded is racism. With that lethal and divisive force at the top of the agenda, even the most principled crusader, the most militant vanguard, the most revolutionary observer can toss in their polemical pride and vote big this year against the very thing that has been killing us in all past years - racism.
So tell all your friends who are thinking of voting for Nader or McKinney or any of those other folks espousing change that all they are doing is voting to keep things the same. They are enjoying the safe harbor of their pre-polarized world of which they've become accustomed to, railing about about all its iniquities. Tell them: Now is the time. Now is the chance. We can dilute this toxin that has been poisoning Ameirca from within for nearly three hundred years once and for all and set the stage for better things to come. Then these other candidates can come forward and offer their solutions. But let's destroy racism first! Vote for Obama.
Back on January 25, 2008, I received a phone call from my mother telling me that her closest and dearest friend and mentor—and my “Nana”—had passed away. Her friend, Mattie P. Harris died the day Barack Obama won the South Carolina primary. She was one month shy of her 106th birthday. She had witnessed more history than most of us can imagine. The minute Mama said that Nana was gone, I immediately uttered that Barack would win South Carolina. Mama asked me what I had just said, and I repeated the statement. “Are you all right?” Mama asked. “Yeah, it was just a thought,” I answered. It felt extremely weird to have that sensation. I am not one to believe in a lot of hocus-pocus; I have no real superstitions. I do believe, however, in ancestral signs.
This past week I took my mother to the dentist. A retired school teacher and early childhood specialist, at 87 years of age and with two mild strokes behind her, I do not expect my mother to be spry. She has always been a busy body with a keen wit and fierce independence, only recently acquiescing to my demand that she have a housekeeper come to clean up her house. Yet she looked extremely frail to me this week. As an only child, I worry much more than I care to admit. My mother admitted to me that she forgot my phone number the other day, but she has always managed to find her Barack Obama buttons when we are headed out for the day. When I took my mother to vote a month ago, I heard an elderly black man say that he was voting early for Barack Obama just in case he “kicked the bucket before November 4th.” Everyone laughed, but the statement worried me.
Back during the Democratic convention, my cousin Billie, an 83-year-old director, actor, and drama coach called me as if to reinforce how historic and unbelievable this moment in time was. She talked about how she never dreamed she would see such a day. This was coming from a woman who has not only performed with the very best actors of any era, but who has trained some of the best that Hollywood and Broadway have to offer. I worry about her health in almost the same way as I worry about my mother’s health. She admitted that she had endured some recent health problems but was seeing a nutritionist that had prescribed a diet that had improved her overall well-being. She sounded good on the phone, so I worried less. Yet I still worry. In addition to being a supremely talented director, actor, and drama coach, she is a skilled diplomat and when necessary, a gifted liar (smile)—all great actors are! I have heard her skirt around the truth to deter me from worrying. Sometimes it works; sometimes it does not.
This week I found out that Barack Obama’s grandmother Madelyn Dunham was in declining health. The fact that Barack’s grandmother is a year younger than my mother Syble, and only a few years older than my cousin Billie made me a bit more anxious. I am not worried about Barack’s ability to win the Whitehouse or his ability to chart a new course for this nation. I do admit, however, to worrying that there might be some people who might not be around to see it.
I want Obama to win, not simply for myself, and all of us who have made phone calls, donated money and time, but for all of those old folks who never thought such a day would happen. My older relatives have seen this nation at its absolute worst. They remember having to keep silent as they endured the insults of racist whites; they remember being beaten and jailed for looking in the wrong direction or for staring at some white man's ugly cousin. And, too many Black women remember a time when any attractive Black female had to be cautious around white men. Rape was often the payback to a black woman who had spurned the attention of any white man. There was not likely to be any trial, and if so, there would be no conviction of the rapists. These Black elders, male and female, have waited their entire lives for a moment like the one we will see in less than a week. As an African-American, I have heard all the varied responses to a potential Obama presidency. I even heard one misguided white woman admit that she feared Blacks would retaliate against white Americans for past grievances. Oh well.
I do not know any black person who wants to settle two-hundred-year-old plus scores. All that I, and they, wish is to see Barack Obama win this election, and then strut himself, and his wonderful, brilliant wife and two daughters into that Big House on Pennsylvania Avenue. I personally wish this for my country and my elders who have paid the fullest measure for this moment in time!!
Peace and Love!
YES, WE SHALL!!
Copyright © 2008 by Leslye J Allen
We've improved our Facebook application - check it out! It links my.barackobama.com with your Facebook account, and lets you share stories with your friends. You can see what stories, speeches, and videos inspire your friends most to support Barack, and leave comments and rate what you think is best. There's even a tool to contact your Facebook friends in early voting states to encourage them to cast their ballot early for Barack. It's a great tool, and with over 95,000 active Facebook users in the last month, chances are someone you know is already using it.
Check it out here , and share it with your friends!
To view this blog post with music and Barack Obama messages taped on his podcast in the past access this link
By Daniel Kurtzman, About.com
"They say I need to be seasoned; they say I need to be stewed. They say, 'We need to boil all the hope out of him -- like us -- and then he'll be ready.'" (Watch video
********************************
'Eye Without A Face' by Mark Bellinghaus, Copyright 2008
Life is all about signs...seeing the signs....understanding the signs...acting upon the signs
--Mark Bellinghaus
Extract & Photo caption/description posted on OUR MARILYN BLOG - you can find the entire blog article here: blog.ourmarilyn.com/2008/08/31/marilyn-monroe-would-have-voted-f .. and also here: my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/markbellinghaus/gG5W75 Ella Fitzgerald & Marilyn Monroe, in 1955 (above) and in 1962, (below), the year Marilyn Monroe passed away. In 1955, when racism was still a big issue in the United States of America, Ella Fitzgerald became the first African-American to perform at the Mocambo, after Marilyn Monroe had lobbied the owner for the booking. The booking was instrumental in Fitzgerald's career. Marilyn would promise the owner that she would appear every night (and be on time), and this way also fill the house--and she did, she was there every night, and she filled the house and: she was always on time! Their close friendship lasted for many years and Ella would sing Marilyn Monroe's famous 'My Heart Belongs To Daddy' in honor of her wonderful friend Marilyn Monroe, who died almost 34 years before she passed on in 1996, at age 79. Barack Obama Quotes: 'They say I need to be seasoned; they say I need to be stewed. They say, 'We need to boil all the hope out of him -- like us -- and then he'll be ready.' 'I have nothing to hide, I enjoy being myself. I'm not going to change who I am just because it's Halloween." -appearing as himself on Saturday Night Live as part of a skit that featured Hillary Clinton dressed as a witch at a Halloween party * 'It's like I was shot out of a cannon. I'm so overexposed that I make Paris Hilton look like a recluse.' 'Hillary is not the first politician in Washington to declare 'Mission Accomplished' a little too soon.' Marilyn Monroe singing Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy, who was a Democrat
When John McCain pointed aside to Barack Obama and referred to him as "that one", I don't even think he knew how revealing it was. Disrespectful?, yes. Peevish?, yes. Condescending?, absolutely. The bad impression he made on most viewers?, priceless.
He insulted a questioner in the audience by saying, "you probably never heard of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac before this bailout." Of course the gentleman who asked the question is an African-American and one does have to wonder if that contributed to McCain's patronizing tone.
He seems to not be able to help himself when it comes to concealing his inherent bad temperament and, well, meanness. While i am at it will someone in his campaign please tell him to stop calling all of us "my friends" continually and constantly. We are not friends. we are fellow citizens or Americans, or countrymen BUT we are not friends.
And what in the world was mcCain talking about in saying Barack Obama plans to "fine us" for not some reason to do with health care? What is he talking about? From the look on Obama's face he doesn't have a clue either. Poor John just keeps digging these holes for himself.
Im sitting watching the debate and I am furious about being called John McCains' friend every 5 minutes. Personally offended that he would assume that I would ever be his friend much less that vote for him. Visibly he is old and offensive not fresh and full of ideas, He constantly tries to change the mood by litigating with a negative tone. I feel that he is the wrong idea and the wrong person to lead our country. Honestly I don't see how he even made it this far. I can imagine our future with Barack, and whenever I try to imagine the future that holds John McCain anywhere close to it, I invision him in a "home" talking about his days when he was almost president. I give him that he did make it this far, but its time to let someone young and freshly originated with positive ideas to step in and command our countries future the right way, the smart way.
That's all for now. I will be back soon.
Josh Edwards.
Dear Obama supporters,
I have come up with what I believe to be an unusual and yet obvious way to garner votes for Barack. I am calling it the 'Friends and Family plan'. Choose an issue close to your heart, and simply write a general, personal letter to your friends and family to whom you think may be on the fence this election season.
Send the letter regular mail...NO EMAIL! It will have greater impact. In the letter, simply ask for them to vote for your cause this time around through Barack. Sounds a little crazy, I know. But you would be amazed at how many times I hear how some republican and independent friends are just not thrilled with McCain. So why not simply ask them for their vote this year? If they do not exhibit passion about voting this year, but plan on voting, ask them to throw the vote your way this time.
The secret is to be non-political, contrite, polite and personal. When it’s personal and not ‘Us’ versus ‘them’ people will respond because you have put a face to this election.
If every one of the 2.5 million Obama contributors convinced one person, that would be the election right there!
Here is my letter:
Dear (Friend, or Family member),
Everyone knows that it is perhaps not polite to discuss politics with people to whom you are not sure of where they stand. I have utmost respect for the personal act of voting. If you have made a decision this year for whom you will be voting, then you have thought this election through, and I commend you for that. However, if you have not made a decision, and are not particularly happy with your choices this year, then I wanted to take the time to do something very unorthodox. I want to explain to you my reasons for voting for Barack Obama.
As many of you know, being Gay or Lesbian in this country we are not entitled to thousands of rights that most non-gay people take for granted. For years, Sam and I have had to jump through hoops in terms of attaining some of those rights through proper channels. Here is a small example of what I had to go through one day. I was riding my bike and a car cut me off, I landed on my head and had to be hauled away in an ambulance. My first reaction was that I would be in the hospital alone, and Sam would not be able to get in. I remember asking the staff there, while in shock to be sure to allow him to see me. Now, my first reaction should have been, what is the extent of the injury, and how do I heal. Not wondering whether or not I will be alone for all of this because of some archaic Florida law. That is one example. The fact of the matter is, simply by virtue of my birthing order, I have had to jump through unnecessary hoops, constantly. Hoops that if the general public had to deal with on a daily basis, there would be no less than rioting in the streets. I have many reasons for voting the way I do, this is one very personal example.
It’s no secret that this election year is important, however if it does not exactly matter to you who you vote for this time around, I am asking you to throw your vote my way, and Sam’s way. It means an opportunity to get the wheels of our cause moving again in a major way. A cause that has been ground to a halt for eight long years.
I know your major concerns are small government and taxes. So take it from one who has truly done his homework on this election. Your taxes will actually decrease under Barack Obama’s plan, and our government will be fixed by someone who is not beholden to special interests and lobbyists. There is little to no conflict of interest.
Thanks for your time-
Love,
Mark
Somebody wanted the bottom line on social networking. You know, I’m supposed to be the shrink with the answers. So, okay. Social networks keep a person in touch with people who can turn them onto new ideas, get them the job, or invite them to another country. A social network might even get you a text message on whom to get a hold of for a hookup or a danger date. If you take it all very seriously, you might be so concerned with staying in touch with everyone in your network that you upset your homeostatic inner balance and become ill.
It takes energy to push a network for your own ends. That is what stresses a person’s physical immune system until it’s out of whack. There is only so much energy in a system. A body’s energy devoted to a large social network is compensated for by taking energy from the immune system. The psychological system gets drained too. So, if you find yourself drained at the end of the day, and not really feeling satisfied, check to see if you’ve over-extended your social network.
A friendship network is different. The 21st century friendship network offers emotional support. It allows for bonding experiences that, added to the nuclear family bonding, help you deal with your anxieties and stressors. Modern life is all about chronic anxiety and stress. This raises the cortisol stress hormone level, and this attacks the hippocampus. The hippocampus under cortisol fire stops rejuvenating (neurogensis, or regrowth) and this makes a person have a slow-to-act or confused memory. Stress, if chronic, makes you stupid, but you can just keep going and going on caffeine and not think about it. Friendship compensates for all this if it is intimate, honest, and emotionally supportive, allaying anxieties and stress. So, hey, high-functioning people have high-functioning friendship networks. High-achieving people have large social networks. That's the difference between the two.
So, what about the concept of being friends and lovers too in a common friendship network? Anybody?
I wasn't able to attend the Grassroots Finance Committee conference call because I hadn't as yet reached the $250 mark to be in the conference call. I have only sent the letter to a few people, since I have very few friends and only a little family. The people I did send letters to have not donated. Two people told me they donated already. One person said she donated over $300 and then later over $100. The other perosn emailed me that he and his wife had already contributed.
So I have a few questions if there is anyone out there who would like to answer the questions.
1) If I have already sent a second notice, should I send a third?
2) Should I be more personal in my message and not use the message provided?
3) Should I send a third message to the ones who said they already donated and ask for another donation due to the urgency of the campaign with only a few weeks left and all the negative lies, slander, and distortions put out by the McCain campaign.
4) If we don't know what party a person belongs to or how they are planning to vote - for Barack or McCain is it okay to send them a letter asking for a donation? Or should we email them first to see how they are involved in the election? I was thinking of emailing my college alumni but don't know their affiliations. However I would expect most would be Obama supporters.
5) If I met people through the campaign should I email them requesting a donation?
I hope there is someone out there who can answer my questions, since I would sincerely like to be successful at raising money for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.
I was a little nervous to do my first round of canvasing. I went down to HQ and checked in with my field organizer Cathy (We're on Team 25). She helped me to map out my turff in the Vote Builder software and zone my neighborhood into three chunks. It was a quick and fun process to see who would end up on the list and who I already knew!
After promising myself that I would get out there all weekend long, it cam down to Sunday night. I knew that I two hours that I could dedicate to the project while Melissa my daughter was at AWANA at our church. After dropping her off, I felt a little sense of anxiety, but I had a plan. I was going to go home, grab my supplies, put my son in a stroller and just walk my normal route and hit the neighbors on the list.
I floundered at home for a little while debating if it was too chilly to drag the baby around the neighborhood and eventually, my hubby urged me just to get out there and do it.
I chose to start off with my neighbor Jamie as my first "test" door so I could get some practice. I rang the door bell and put ob my Campaign for Change Game Face. As I introduced myself and proceeded to read the lite script provided, I figured that I might need a little more practice. Thankfully, Jamie laughed at me of course and then in a very sweet way, offered to come out and help me.
Jamie pushed the baby in the stroller as I went up to the doors of my unsuspecting neighbors and knocked hoping to greet them with my Campaign for Change Literature, Voter Registration Sheets and my checklist.
The first few neighbors were still undecided, so I cheerfully wrote down their status and moved along. Once we got the first few out of the way, it started to feel FUN. When we got to neighbors that supported Obama, it was like greeting a member of the family. I even high fived a neighbor I've NEVER met before when he told me that he and his wife were already volunteering!What a wonderful sense of untiy.
The best part of the canvas was that I got to meet new neighbors that I hadn't reached out to yet and I found that there are a TON of neighbors who have kids that are the same age as my kiddos! I can see some future Playdates on the horizon!
One particular neighbor stood out in my mind and I am still reflecting on it as I write. He told me Thank you for being about who I support and for getting out there and doing something about it. That was my WOW moment and I am still running it over and over in my head.
There is a sense of unity out there and it is growing. We all have a common ground in the fact that we want the America that Barack Obama is visualizing. To be able to get together as Americans and share the same concerns is a beautiful thing.
I have two more canvasing projects to do and I do hope that my neightbor Jamie will join me again. What an awesome feeling it is to unite neighbors and consider them friends.
Sincerely,Sarah
More than likely we all have friends or family members who are interested in the Obama Campaign but have not volunteered to help. My friends and I have been talking for the last 8 years about the misdirection of our foreign policy, the poor domestic policy decisions, and the state of our economy. With all of their passion, getting them to volunteer has been a challenge.
What I have decided to do is press the issue with them by asking two questions:
1) On November 5th, will they feel like they have done enough to support the campaign?
2) It 20 years, how will they describe their roll in the campaign to their children and grandchildren?
I sent the following email to a friend's father today who is voting for McCain....Amazing to me really because he can't stand George W Bush, voted twice for Clinton (then twice for Bush)
I do find it amazing that people say "I don't know Obama and am not sure of where he stands" after 18 million votes, a wonderfully written plan of action for his term and what he stands for, numerous debates, town hall meetings, etc.....If you combine the 18 million Democrats who voted for Hillary plus the 18 million that voted for Obama that's 36 million votes.....John McCain got less than 10 million yet once again, more than half of America will be unrepresented and the things that we should and could do as a nation will NOT fucking be done. AND YET after one 38 minute speech that she has given exactly the same over and over, that is mostly filled with, at best 1/2 truths, and getting 1 vote (by McCain), you and others can actually say, with a perfectly straight face say "Sarah Palin is GREAT and chant her name".. This is probably more galling to me than anything that's happened so far with this election.... I would be interested to know specifically what you don't like about Reid and Pelosi. After all Bush had 6 years of Repug Senate and Congress. I am tired of listening to complete fabrications that are being bought in to by people who don't spend the time to really investigate. Like Congress is taking a vacation instead of voting on the energy bill --- without mentioning that this bill proposed by the Repugs includes a FULL lifting of the moratorium for off shore drill AND ANWR.....There are MILLIONS of us who don't believe that drilling is the solution nor even a short term fix. This is why the Democrats refused to vote on it. They passed - FINALLY an increase in the freaking minimum wage....something that actually has an impact on PEOPLE....yet this was a 5 year battle. They passed a new GI Bill - again, a HUGE battle that McCain voted against. This is what takes up all their time and why they get little done. TOO MUCH PARTISANSHIP and zero agreement. Just the desire for Repugs to rule this nation like they are Kings and we are just subjects. I have Obama's entire plan printed and downloaded - I have read the Repug platform and McCain's plan - THIS is why I am voting for Obama. He is bright, articulate and certainly smarter than either McCain or Palin who took 6 years and 5 colleges to finally get her Journalism degree....
Finally, anyone who says we are going to 'pay off' the $407 BILLION deficit without raising taxes somewhere is a bold face LIAR and saying anything to get elected.
The 'Straight Talk Express' that can tell people who have worked in Manufacturing "your jobs are gone and they aren't coming back....that's the reality" compared to someone who says "lets retool these factories and retrain some of these workers to craft new products like solar panels, wind turbines, etc.....You would rather have that? The 'straight talk express' that will lie about not raising taxes but has NO PLAN to pay back the huge debt - why should he, he is 72 years old. We are currently borrowing money from our good friends the Chinese for god's sake.... I beg of you to turn off CNN, Fox, Rush, MSNBC, whomever and READ both of their real policies and then think for yourself.
Wow, I can't believe in this day and age that folks are still so racially prejudice. It makes it hard for people of color to move freely around the country when white woman like Sarah Palin view the world in a glass house. John McCain who grew up in a racist environment which gave him a reason to vote against MLK's holiday, minimum wage increases and relief for woman who suffer domestic violence.
It is getting a little tiresome to constantly hear about McCain's military exploits in which he was a failure crashing jet's and getting caught by the enemy. He should be embarrassed by being exposed as a hero when he did no more than any other vet in which the military wasn't even allowing minorities in the field of aviation but stuck on the ground as infantry soldiers.
Now what is the truth? McCain voted 90% w/Bush or not and why hasn't Obama's high echelon staff consistently getting out McCain's negative voting record in there ad's in swing states and amongst the blue collar worker's states.
I am getting very disappointed because I've been going door to door and generated many registration applications. This campaign needs to let us know that they're using all the resources they have to combat the RNC. The RNC acted like a bunch of school age children and showed they have a very bad dislike for minorities and urbanites.
Sarah Palin did what she was suppose to do read the script and act the part. It is funny how the RNC is so excited about what was one of the most illiterate speeches any politician could have written. What made it popular was the play on the "Great White Hope" against the Black Champion once again. The RNC would like to see things turn out like "To Kill A Mockingbird," with a innocent decent man lynched because of the vile lies from a trashy woman.
Now the march to freedom and equality for all men will continue with Obama not McCain. McCain's views on reaching out to the minorities has all but dwindled due to his disrespectful VP pick. Did anyone interview the Native Alaskans and get their views on Palin or are we only going to hear from the usual focused group middle aged and late are Caucasians.
Now we got a lot of intelligent superior writers, that submit great writings to this blog and I admire them immensely. Unless layman and common men and women are recognized for their opinion's in the media instead of all educated professional individuals who seem to be the only voice for the common man voters would succumb to the truth.
I know that with faith, we will work hard for our cause, but common sense needs to be used in order for Obama to win an election in a racial prejudice society.
I started an Online Petition were I´m asking non American Citizens as well as American Citizens to join and support Barack Obama sending a strong message to the American people to vote for him, please sign the Petition and distribute it over the web, the more people the more impact it will have.
URL:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/SupObama/petition.html Help us be a huge voice Dan Fleitman
The phrase "a standard to keep" means a rule to keep, a model to follow, an example for imitation or emulation, a principles, a values, what is expected or what is required. God’s Kingdom operates with certain rules and has a model or example to follow and imitate. It has principles and values that governs it. There is something that is expected and required if you are to operate in and succeed in it. God has certain values that he desires to be associated with his church. What does God expect from us? What are his requirements if we are to get his best and have an overflow of abundance flowing into our lives? What example or model do we follow, imitate or emulate?..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
God has standards that every Christian should keep but it is not what we think. God’s standards are not hard and harsh. In Matthew 23:1-4, we find Jesus speaking to the multitudes about the scribes and Pharisees saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move (remove) them with one of their fingers." The phase "bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne" in this passage means to put in chains, to bind up with harsh, cruel unbearable loads that are very injurious to the person trying to carry it. Verse 4 in the (TMNT) puts it this way; "Instead of giving you God’s Law as food and drink by which you can banquet on God, they package it in bundles of rules, loading you down like pack animals. They seem to take pleasure in watching you stagger under these loads, and wouldn’t think of lifting a finger to help)." Jesus said that the scribes and Pharisees teach the truth about the scripture, the words God gave to his people but they did not live out the spirit of the scriptures. The spirit of the scriptures does not load people down with harsh and cruel burdens that are difficult and even injurious for them to carry. The spirit of the scriptures takes the burden away and gets under someone else’s load to help them from under them.
Jesus came into the world to relieve man from the burden of sin. His ministers should be in the ministry to do the same. He said his yoke was easy and his burden was light.
Matthews 11:28-30 tells the readers to "come unto Him, especially those who are laboring and are heavily burden, and He would give them rest. He tells them if they would connect with Him and learn of Him, He would teach them and help them to be free of their burdens and struggles. He lets them know that He is gentle, caring and kind and He will give them rest from their worries, pains and struggles. When I accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord I had grown weary and exhausted going nowhere fast. My sins were weighing me down; they were killing me. I needed help. When He came into my life, He saved me and lifted the burden of sin off of my life. He made me free. Jesus caused me to rest. Rest means to cause or permit one to cease from any movement or labor in order to recover and collect his strength. God wants to do this for you. He wants to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
Galatians 6:1-3 says "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself." We aren’t supposed to see a brother burden down and jump on the load to make his load heavier and more burdensome. We should consider how we would want to be treated and do for others what we would want done for ourselves. When we are harsh and condemning with people we may find ourselves in the same sinful situation. When we get under a brother’s burden with him to help him lift it from him we fulfill the law of love. We may think that we will never fall into a situation of sin, but we are human beings and are subject to mistakes. When we make mistakes or fail, Jesus is there to help us up. Christianity is not suppose to be burdensome, but a better way of life.
Look at these passages with me, Mark 7:5-8 reads, "Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the traditions of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition." In these passages Jesus said they were keeping the commandments of men and not of God. In other words the heavy burdens were not from God but man. Dos and don’ts will not get a man into heaven and will not give him a right relationship with God, only Jesus Christ can provide that for anyone.
Colossians 2:8-15 reads, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." When you receive Jesus Christ you receive the fullness, completeness of God. Circumcision denotes the extinguishing of lusts and the removal of sins. It’s an act to make one clean. We were cleaned with the circumcision made without hands by the circumcision of Christ. God has forgiven all our transgressions through the act of Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.
Isaiah 59:19-21 says, "So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the LORD. As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and forever." The phrase "lift up a standard" means to vanish away, to cause to subside, make to flee and put to flight. The standard that the Lord lifted up caused the overwhelming enemy to flee. The devil cannot make accusations against the child of God because all of our sins were nailed to the cross with Jesus and was buried with Him in the grave when He became a substitute for us. Jesus paid for all of our sins. The enemy cannot win against us. He cannot stop God’s love from flowing into our life nor into our situation. We can only stop the flow through unbelief.
Jesus and His work on the cross is our standard. If we mimic Him and follow what He has said and commanded we will have God’s best. Hebrews 12:1-3 tells us this, "…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." The phrase "every weight" means burdens, cares, hindrances and encumbrance. To beset means to overwhelm, trouble, harass, make shaky, entangles us and put us in disadvantage. Cares choke the word and make you not to produce the results nor experience the prosperity available through the privilege God has provided for every believer (Mark 4:19; Luke 8:14). Cares will cause you to miss the visitation of the Lord over your life (Luke 21:34). We are instructed to roll all of our cares over on God because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). We have a race to run, something to complete, a purpose to carry out, promises to receive, a God to be glorified through what we believe and do. These passages instruct us to looking to Jesus, which means to consider attentively, to turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on Jesus. Fix your eyes on Jesus, His love, sacrifice, faith, joy and willingness to carry out the will of God at all cost. Let him be your example in every area of your life. The phrase "the Author" in this passage means the one that takes the lead in anything and gives us an example to follow, a predecessor in a matter, a pioneer. Jesus is the pioneer of faith. He proved in his resurrection that God can be trusted and is worthy to be followed as a model. The phrase "the finisher" means He is the very perfection of faith. Jesus finished His walk on earth in faith. He was in faith in every area of His life on earth and has declared I have overcome the world and you can to. Jesus never looked at his situation and allowed them to dictate his actions. He believed what the Father told Him. It settled it for Him. He believed that he had the power to rise. He believed that His joy was coming to pass and He would see His seed, many sons coming into the kingdom of God. Jesus was not thrown off his faith by trouble, but stood fast in faith.
Ephesians 5:1 tells us therefore to be followers of God, as dear children. We are to imitate, mimic, reproduce or emulate the God kind of faith that Jesus showed. We are His children. We are to emulate Him in this world. We know from Him that God has not lied and will not lie to us. His word stands sure.
Hebrews 6:10-20, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. 17Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec."
When we keep God’s standards, it will open up the door for greatness in our life. God’s standards for us to keep will always bring glory to God. God’s standards will cause those who keep them to prosper.
God’s truth is a standard that the enemy cannot win out against. God truth is His word (John 17:17). The kind of faith that Jesus possesses can only come through the word (Romans 10:17). His word is a lamp and a light to give us guidance and direction (Psalms 119:105). His word keeps us clean and gives us what we need to overcome and live victoriously (John 15:3; John 8:31-32). The word, God’s truth, will liberate us from wrong thinking (Romans 12:2; Eph 4:23). We have to do whatever we can to get it even if we have to buy it (Proverb 23:23).
Faith in God is a standard and the enemy cannot win out against it if you are walking it. You and I were justified by faith and have peace with God because of it. Faith is our righteousness (Gal 3:6; Romans 4:5; Phil 3:9; Romans 9:30-32; Romans 10:6). We have access into his grace, through faith (Romans 5:2; Eph 3:12). We receive the promises of God through faith (Romans 4:15-16, 17-25). When you ask God for anything it has to be asked in faith and without doubt (James 1:6). Divine healing and miracles come into our lives by the hearing of faith (Galatians 3:5). Faith is part of the believer’s armor and we quench all the fiery darts of the devil through faith (Eph 6:16). You and I cannot resist the devil and his crowd; accept we do it through faith (1 Peter 5:9). Faith is the only thing that can get God’s approval and cause us to obtain a good report (Hebrews 11:6, 39– 51). When you walk and live by faith the blessings of God comes in and on your life (Gal 3:9). As a matter of fact anything and everything we do or say should be by faith or it is sin (Romans 14:22-23). When sin is finished it brings forth death. Every Christian’s life should be govern, sustained and kept through faith (Habakkuk 2:4; Gal 3:11). Everything in God is accessed through faith. Faith is very important to the life of the believer if we are to please and glorify God through our life.
Love of God is a standard and the enemy cannot win out against. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." The phrase "so love" means in this manner God loves. The Greek word for love in this passage is the word agape – and means great love and is an act of the will. Agape is love that loves even when a person is not deserving. It is unconditional love. A person who loves this way is a person with a disciplined will to seek the welfare of others, to help them when they act like that don’t want it and will not appreciate your help. God loved us when we were not deserving. He proved His willingness to do whatever it took to bring salvation to our lives to the point of making his own son as an offering for our sins. Look at Romans 5:6-8 and it reads, "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth (showed and demonstrated) his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." His demonstration was in His gift He gave. A true test of love is demonstrated in giving. If someone says they love you the proof of that love is demonstrated and manifested through their giving into your life. God didn’t just give but "He gave His." What does that mean? God did not give something that belonged to someone else but He gave of what was His. He gave His Son to demonstrate how committed He was to our salvation and to demonstrate just to what extent He would go for us. Jesus gave to demonstrate and prove His love to the world. In John 15:13-16 Jesus says, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down (give, evident by making a commitment to preserve the lives of other at the sured risk of loosing his own) his life for his friends. Ye are my friends (I am for you, I am with you, I am helping you, I am going to bring you through my death and resurrection and give you a new and better life), if ye do whatsoever I command you (implying those things that I command you to do is for your benefit, so that you can experience the resurrection life that I am providing you. The commandments that I am giving you are my plans to give you the best of the best. They are my instructions for your success, for a kingdom child). Henceforth (because of this) I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends (you know what I am doing); for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you (I have told you about my death and my resurrection and why I must do it). Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit (evidence, proof, produce, results, like results), and that your fruit should remain (and not fade away): that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you (keep my instructions and God will give you whatever you ask in my name, if you don’t He want). These things I command you, that ye love one another." Jesus received the punishment for our sins so that we could through his righteousness experience an abundant life (2 Cor. 5:21; Romans 6:23; Isaiah 53:4-5; John 10:10).
The standard of love says that we should be willing to give our life also. Love towards others demonstrates our love for God (1 John 4:7-14). Love is about giving (John3:16; John15:13), not just in word but in deeds and truth (1John3:17-21-24). Jesus said, when we love God and love our neighbors we fulfill the whole law of God (Matt 22:37-40). Faith works by love (Gal. 5:6). You see love always cover sin. It never exposes it (Proverbs 10:12). If you are claiming to be like Jesus you are not going around trying to uncover people’s sin. Instead, you are doing what you can to help others to get the victory over it. If you say you have received the Holy Spirit the evidence should be love manifesting through your life by giving and helping others (Gal 5:22; Philemon 1:5; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; Col 1:4; Hebrews 6:10) unconditionally. I Corinthians 13 sums up love and the way it should act.
"If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love."
· Love is always patient, never giving up.
· Love is always kind, cares more for others than for self.
· Love is never envious, doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
· Love isn’t arrogance, full of pride nor boastful. Nor is she conceited, Doesn’t have a swelled head,
· Doesn’t force itself on others,
· Isn’t always "me first." It is never selfish and self-centered, but is about other.
· Doesn’t fly off the handle but love thinks thing through before it acts.
· Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others.
· Doesn’t revel when others grovel.
· Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, always glad to side with it.
· She bears up under everything.
· Love refuses to loose and will not cave in, will not allow the challenges of life to crush it, causing to quit
· Love trusts God always, believing everything God has said and is willing to do everything that God is saying.
· Always looks for the best and believes the best in all.
· Never looks back. There is no limit to her hope, but keeps going to the end.
· Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit.
Let’s keep God’s standard and glorify Him with our lives.
