Thoughts Too Jumbled

Have you ever had a day when you would like to have a logical thought process but can't? Or, one of those days when it would be nice to put coherent thoughts on paper (or on a blog) that make sense and might even be something that others would like to read?

Today is one of those days....

I have so many thoughts rolling around in my mind, I cannot make any linear sense out of them. I have thoughts of love, fear, depression, anxiety, just to name a few. I cannot seem to find peace in the midst of the storm today. Does that mean that I am not saved? Does that mean that I do not trust in God enough? That I haven't let the Holy Spirit move in me today? Some people would have me believe that. But is faith really that cut and dry; black and white?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. God knows, my thoughts are too jumbled together to make any sense.

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God is Kind, But He's Not Soft

"You didn't think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he's such a nice God, he'd let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he's not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life change.".....Romans 2 (The Message)

My mom and dad divorced when I was just a year old. I never had the chance to meet my dad, he died a few years back at the age of 63. Since, I never had a father figure in my life, I never had a negative or positive role model to look to in learning how to be a dad. I had to find other role models, and ultimately my heavenly daddy, to show me how to be a man, a husband, and a father.

Over the past 11 years of having the opportunity of being a dad, I have had many successes and many failures in raising my children. There have been times when I should have been more patient and understanding. There have been times when I should have been more strict and not as lenient. Times when I should have listened when I ignored. Times when I should have shut my mouth and let the children talk.

God has never found himself on one side or the other in the discipline department. He is precisely where he should be. He is never too harsh, and never too soft. When we fall down, he picks us up. When we are in need of a little discipline he gives it with a firm but loving hand. We may have this idea that God is a pushover. That he is weak and that he lets us get away with things because he loves us too much to punish us. God loves his children in such a way that he will lead us to the truth and a radical change in him. Love does not mean sitting on the sidelines and letting your kids do things that is wrong. Love means disciplining them for the wrongs they have committed, but showing them the right way and the way out of the trouble they are in.

God is kind, but he's not soft.

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American Presidents Part 2: John Adams

Today is the second in a series chronicling the good and the bad of American presidents. My goal is to present an unbiased histography of the man and the president. I am trying very hard to maintain objectiveness in my assessment of each man. For the most part, I am finding it most effective to use bullet points to accomplish this task.








John Adams

• Born in 1735 in Braintree Province of Massachusetts to John Adams Sr. and Susanna Boylston. He was the oldest of three brothers. He can date his ancestry back to Henry Adams, who was an original immigrant in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638.





• He was heavily influenced by his Puritan ancestry. He felt that they were "bearers of freedom" and felt very strongly to live up to their fight for freedom from tyranny.





• Adams began attending Harvard at the age of 16. His father had expected him to become a minister, but after much reflection Adams decided to become a lawyer.





• At the age of 28, Adams married Abigail Smith, the daughter of a Congregational (Puritan) minister. They had six children-Abigail, John Quincy, Susanna, Charles, Thomas Boylston, and Elizabeth (stillborn).

• Adams was a major opponent of the stamp act of 1765 . He made the argument that the beliefs of his ancestors, the Puritans, were the driving force behind the opposition to the stamp act. He believed that the stamp act deprived the colonists of basic human rights. In this case, those human rights consisted of not being taxed without consent and being judged by a jury of their peers.




• As a lawyer, John Adams defended the British soldiers accused of firing into a crowd in Boston, MA. This event has since came to be known as the Boston Massacre. He was afraid that defending the soldiers would hurt his reputation, however his belief in basic humans rights and the right to a fair trial, far outweighed any fear he had of his reputation. Because of his defense, six of the soldiers were acquitted and two were found guilty of manslaughter. He received very little payment for his services from the soldiers.


• 1776-Wrote Thoughts on Government which many believe heavily influenced New England state constitutions.


• Although Thomas Jefferson was the primary writer of the Declaration of Independence, Adams was part of the committee that helped draft it.


• Massachusetts's state constitution was largely written by Adams


• Adams never owned slaves. Him and Abigail employed free blacks to work on their plantation. Adams, however did argue against the emancipation of slaves in Massachusetts and thought that the subject of slavery should stay out of national politics. He also opposed the use of blacks in the revolution. I have not been able to find any information why he held such a stance, and why he was so adamant about it.


• Served as Vice-President during George Washington's two terms in office.


• 1796-Adams ran for president as the Federalist Party candidate. He won the presidency over Thomas Jefferson by a very narrow electoral college victory (71-98).


• Adams was never implicated in any type of scandal. His personal life and his public life was one of virtue and respect.


• Adams had many political struggles during his presidency. He was undercut by his own party and made many political enemies. He made every effort to practice George Washington's recommendation in not getting involved in foreign affairs. This became difficult when the French began attacking American merchant ships. After much negotiation, he was able to sign a treaty with Napoleon that in essence kept America out of any entanglements in the war between Britain and France.


• Adams lost his bid for a second term to Thomas Jefferson (democratic-republican). Most historians point to Alexander Hamilton and the "High Federalists" for undermining his campaign. The political landscape had shifted in the Senate and in the Parties. Because of Jefferson's tremendous popularity, Hamilton's backstabbing, and Aaron Burr's politicking John Adams stood no chance.


• Because of the rift between Jefferson and Adams, he did not attend Jefferson's inauguration ceremony.


• John Adams died on July 4, 1826, the same day as Thomas Jefferson. He held the record of being the oldest living past president until his record was broken by Ronald Reagan in 2001.


• Adams was raised in the Congregational Church but later embraced the beliefs of the Unitarian Church. He was influenced by Deist teaching and did not Believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ or that God intervened in the day to day activities of mankind. Adams did however, carry the up most respect for Christianity as the only religion of the ancient world that was full of "wisdom, virtue, equity, and humanity."

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments.

major source for this post can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams

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American President: Part 1

Today, I am going to start a series of posts that will chronicle the good, the bad, and the ugly of this nation's presidents. I have heard many people say how bad this president was or how great that president was. Normally their ideas and critiques are based on their specific political slant. I intend to be as non-partisan as possible during these posts. I want to portray a true picture of how different presidents confronted problems and how they failed in office. Of course this is and will be hard to do, considering how revisionists change history to fit into the box they want to fill. I look forward to writing these articles and look forward to hearing your comments.





George Washington 1789-1797



George Washington is one of those presidents that is hard to find negative things about. He has been so idolized over the course of the past two-hundred years, that there is ne'r a bad word to be found.

Early Years

• Was raised on his parents plantation in Colonial Beach Virginia.
• Had smallpox
• Initiated as a Freemason (on of the most influential aspects of his life. The Masons were a driving force in his life and influenced all major decisions in his life)
• He worked as a surveyor, and a planter
• Became a major in the Virginia Militia at the age of 20 with no prior experience
• Fought in the French and Indian War.

Between Wars

• Washington Married Martha Dandridge Custis, a wealthy widow that increased Washington's wealth by adding one third of 18,000 acres. Some historians have made the claim that Washington was actually in love with another woman by the name of Sally Fairfax. In any case George and Martha made a good marriage and were married for many years
• Washington lived an aristocratic lifestyle. He was very fond of fox hunting. He also (like many other plantation owners) imported very expensive British goods and luxuries.
• He grew mostly tobacco on his plantation which was exported to England, but realized that tobacco was a very volatile crop. He was smart enough to switch to wheat which was easily sold in the Colonies and avoided the sever economic swings that the tobacco crop caused.
• Washington stayed mostly out of politics or military concerns until 1774 when the passage of the "Intolerable Acts". In August of 1774, Washington attended the First Virginia Convention and was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress.

Revolutionary War

• On the Nomination of John Adams, Washington was appointed Major General and Commander in Chief of the Continental Army.
• The Revolutionary war is perhaps the best known part of Washington's life. It will not be covered in detail here. If you would like to learn more about the Revolutionary War and Washington's role in it, click here.

Presidency

• The only president ever voted unanimously to the office by the electoral college.
• Preferred the title "Mr. President" over more pompous names, like King.
• Initially declined a salary for his position as president but later accepted it so people would not perceive the presidency as an office that can only be held by the rich.
• Enacted the "Militia Act of 1792" which was the first time that the Federal Government used military force over the states.
• Reluctantly served a second term as president but refused to serve anymore. Washington did not want be thought of as someone unwilling to give up the power he yielded.
• At his Farewell Speech, Washington brought up many points including not making long term alliances, not getting involved with European affairs, and avoiding foreign influence in American affairs.

Later Years

• Very happily retired from public office back to his plantation
• Created one of the biggest distilleries in the United States at the time creating whisky and other alcoholic drinks
• When it seemed possible that America might have to go to war against France, President John Adams named Washington Lieutenant General and Commander in Chief of the armies raised if war was needed. (1798)
• Washington died on December 14, 1799 after developing pneumonia.
• During Washington's lifetime he had accumulated over 100 slaves to manage his plantation. In his will, he emancipated all of his slaves and gave them their freedom.

In future posts, I plan on making a biographical sketch such as this one. I hope to state the negative aspects of a president's term as well as the positive. Unlike this post, I will most likely try to concentrate on what a president did during his term or terms in office. I felt it important to give so much time for Washington since he was the first.

I look forward to any opinions that you may have on this post or any future posts. If you feel I have omitted important details please let me know. Also, if you feel I have been biased in any way, please let me know as well.

Blessings.

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Daily Devotional Thoughts-Mark 10

1-12
This is an interesting piece of scripture that deals with divorce and remarrying. Now it is pretty obvious from this passage that God's heart breaks every time there is a family that is ripped apart from divorce. And, just looking at our own culture, it is evident that nothing good comes from divorce.

One of interesting aspects of this passage is Jesus' insistence that if a person is divorced and remarries, they commit adultery. He says this to the Pharisees as well as disciples who push him on the issue later. Jesus is always concerned about the heart of the matter. Even on this touchy subject there are heart issues that need to be dealt with. Perhaps Jesus was trying to point to the heart of the religious community of his day that thought they were better than everyone else because of their "holy" lives. Most of them has accepted the letter of the law but not spirit of God.

13-16
How do people become like children? How do we trust unconditionally? We have faith like a child who has not lived long enough to doubt the things they have been told. They have not lived long enough to exercise their "ya..but". Lord take my life and change me so I am not constantly trying to find ways to prove you wrong.

17-31
The ultimate passage to contradict the prosperity doctrine that is so prevalent within the church these days. It is wrong to have money, it's just that money can so easily control you. God wants great things for us, but how did we ever get the idea that He was talking about material and monetary gains? Of course he wants great things for us-eternal life. Of course he wants to give us live more abundantly-life in Jesus.

32-51
This is a great story. Here we have James and John walking up to Jesus and saying "Hey Mr. Jesus we want to be princes in your kingdom. We want to be important." Jesus looks at them and says, "Do you know what you are asking? Do you realize that the Prince of Peace, the creator of the universe is going to suffer on a cross and die for the sins of the whole world? Do you really want to share in that glory? Do you realize that the King of the Universe will become the ultimate servant? And if you want to attain glory, you will have to do the same thing? Do you really want this?"

I don't think James and John really understood what they were asking for. And they obviously caused a little consternation among the other disciples. What I find interesting is John is still considered the apostle that Jesus loved (at least self proclaimed). But I really do think he go the message of love. All you have to do is read his letters and find that out.

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