Promises

A Prayer for the United States Presidential Election

Leighton sent this to me. On the eve of the election it is worthy of posting:

Creator of us all:
you are the source of every blessing,
the judge of every nation
and the hope of earth and heaven:

We pray to you on the eve of this important and historic election.

We call to mind the best that is within us:
That we live under God,
that we are indivisible,
that liberty and justice extend to all.

We acknowledge the sin that runs through our history as a nation:
The displacement of native peoples, racial injustice,
economic inequity, regional separation.

And yet we profess a deep and abiding gratitude
for the goodness of ordinary people who have made sacrifices,
who have sought opportunities,
who have journeyed to this land as immigrants
strengthening its promise in successive generations,
who have found freedom on these shores,
and defended this freedom at tremendous cost.

Be with us in the days that are near.
Remind us that your ways are not our ways,
that your power and might transcend
the plans of every nation,
that you are not mocked.

Let those who follow your Son Jesus Christ be a peaceable people
in the midst of division.

Send your Spirit of peace, justice and freedom upon us,
break down the walls of political partisanship,
and make us one.

Give us wisdom to walk in your ways,
courage to speak in your name,
and humility to trust in your providence.

Amen.

by The Rev. Kenneth H. Carter, Jr

Copyright 2008 by Kenneth H. Carter, Jr., Pastor of Providence United Methodist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina. Published by the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. Congregations may reprint this resource for local church use, provided the copyright of the author is acknowledged and this website is cited.

Power

And because of their unbelief, he couldn't do any mighty miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief. Mark 6:5-6 (Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.)

Mark is explaining Jesus' sojourn in his own home town. People were familiar with Jesus. They knew him. They watched him grow up. Their kids played with him. Indeed, they may have played with him. (I wonder if he had an advantage at hide and seek, but that is another discussion.)

"he couldn't do any mighty miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them..."

I love the fact that he could only "heal a few people..." We'd be talking about a few people healed for month's...

I believe I grew up in a community that "knew" Jesus too well. We boxed him in. We knew that he was clean cut, didn't smoke, chew, or go with girls or do; he resembled the average Utah Mormon; he voted republican, and generally agreed with a conservative political agenda. Yeah, we knew Jesus. Unlike CS Lewis' Aslan, our Jesus was safe... is safe...

I'm coming to believe that the reason we don't see the miraculous so very often is that we're too familiar... just like those that grew up with him...

I'm not sure how to get to the power that I hear missionaries speak of or I see when I travel to the third world. But somehow I want to travel toward it by faith.

My journey so far has brought me to know Jesus in ways I never dreamed possible before my fall into grace. I'm one of the lucky ones who know that if I don't stay connected to him every day I'm quite literally, "Toast". I don't know where the path is going to lead; what vistas we will get to see as we walk, but I am convinced that Shell and I are in for the kinda journey that only good LSD trips can come close to being. (or so I'm told by elders in my congregation)

The miraculous power of the Holy Spirit which empowered Jesus to do the groovy stuff he did is available to all of us. it raised me from the dead. It continues to give me the power to draw my next breath. It gives me the strength to fall to my knees and ask for help, and love Shell in ways I can't do any other way... I'm selfish though cause I still want more... I've learned enough, not to demand it though, and to patiently wait for my God to hone me to use His power to leave this world a better place than I found it.

Please, Lord, keep me from being too familiar with you... Help me to continue to trust you... I love you...

Cancer Again

Dad is following in my Mum's footsteps. He has a rather large lump on his back below his shoulder. The biopsy showed that it is cancerous. Today he goes in for surgery to have it removed.

At church last night I prayed that just like with Mum's cancer many years ago, the cancer would vanish before they cut him open. Now that would be cool...

Taxing Soda and Unhealthy Foods

Every time tobacco taxes come up I vote for them. I may not except that I realize that cigarettes are leading cause of health issues and I end up paying part of that bill. Let me explain. Recently I had three visits to Emanuel Hospital in the course of three weeks. I discovered while there that over 50% of the people they treat never pay because they are uninsured and can't afford the care that they need to receive. In order to write off those costs the hospital has to charge more so that people that do pay help pay for those that don't.

In addition, here in Oregon, uninsured children, those on medicaid, and some uninsured adults all get tax dollars given to them to help them cover their tax bills (including those in government employ). Like it or not everyone helps flip the tab for everyone else's medical bills. Since I am helping pay for your medical c
are, I want to ensure that you live as healthily as possible so that my costs are lower.

If I can't stop you smoking I want a portion of the money you pay for cigs to go toward your health care. In small part (because not all the cigarette taxes go to health care) they do.

Did you know that unhealthy eating habits and soda consumption cause more health problems than cigarettes? Since this is the case, why aren't we taxing that Big Mac (or surprisingly, that Denny's Cheeseburger that is far worse than the Big Mac). Why aren't we taxing soda so that every Big Gulp and Super Big Gulp that is thrown back is twice the cost. It probably won't inhibit behaviour, but think of the money that could go toward health costs that are already soaring out of control.

Just so you know, as a fat man, I am floating the idea. I ref soccer games. If I wasn't overweight my joints would not yell at me as much as they do following a two game night. I would not be at risk for diabetes or stroke. I have only myself to blame, but since I am uninsurable, shouldn't I have been paying into the system to underwrite the costs I will incur at some point due to my bad decisions. And shouldn't I be financially rewarded (by not paying taxes) for eating better and drinking water, milk or juice?

That is my two cents anyway...

Dave Ramsey's "Common Sense Fix"

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three-step Common Sense Plan.

I. INSURANCE

• Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-typ insurance. Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.

• In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:

1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a 6% fixed-rate mortgage.

• Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a chance to keep their homes.

• Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and ruined lives

    2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and executive         team members as long as the company holds these government-insured bonds / mortgages. This keeps under-performing executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.

• This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.

II. MARK TO MARKET

• Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.

• This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.

III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX

• Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous — and immediate — liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.

• This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down.

This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

Bailing out the Economy

Perhaps the following email made it to your inbox:

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend. To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bona fide U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up. So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00. My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let's assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam. But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife has $595,000.00 (sic) . What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family? Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved. Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads. Put away money for college - it'll be there. Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs. Buy a new car - create jobs. Invest in the market - capital drives growth. Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves. Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else.

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces (sic). If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( 'vote buy' ) economic incentive that is being proposed by one of our candidates for President.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+! As for AIG - liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up. Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't. 

Sure it's a crazy idea that can 'never work.' But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party! How do you spell Economic Boom? I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion.
We Deserve It Dividend more than do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC. And remember, my plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh...I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

On the surface seems like a great idea… I wouldn't mind $595,000.00 in Shell's and my account. I wouldn't mind Dad having an additional $297,000.00. We could pay off the house and still have money left over. Our issue would be solved…

Or would it? Wouldn't money be devalued? If everyone has that kind of money, money is worth less than it otherwise would be. Giving money away doesn't solve anything really. Ron Paul is correct,

Remember the movie the Grand Canyon

The year is 1991 and Kevin Kline, Danny Glover, Steve Martin and a host of others star in this remarkable movie made by the director of the Big Chill. Toward the beginning of the movie Kevin Kline and Danny Glover are looking at the sun rise over Los Angeles after a rough night. Glover says, "You ever been tot the grand canyon?" Kline looks at him like he has lost his marbles, answers, "no…" Glover continues, "When you watch the sun rise over the Grand Canyon you feel like a gnat on a horse's ass standing next to the freeway with the world going by at 60 mph."

Michelle and I just spent a remarkable three days at the coast. Looking at a billion grains of sand and infinite wave breaks each with their countless drops of water spraying the sun drenched rocks; looking down at a microscopic seaweed forest occupied by sea snails, rockfish, and innumerable other organisms I wondered at the majesty of God… "Through Him all things hold together…" Watching a most spectacular sunset, laughing in our rest, wondering at our own finitude and the miraculous love of our Creator renewed and strengthened this small human to carry on the fight another day…

I may be as small as a gnat on a horse's ass but the lack of significance the emptiness of meaning. The existential feeling behind the statement does not haunt me any longer. My finitude is freeing. At my best, realizing that I have no need to be God and can let him do His job gives hope, peace and joy… I guess that is what surrender feels like…