We Got To Show Each Other Some Love

This rite of custom brings us together at a defining hour — when decisions are hard and courage is tested. We enter the year 2007 with large endeavors underway, and others that are ours to begin. In all of this, much is asked of us. We must have the will to face difficult challenges and determined enemies — and the wisdom to face them together.

This defines what we are facing right now. We struggle through life's trials and what we ourselves do to make it more difficult than it should be. In speaking to others across the nation and gathering their collective thoughts on many a subject matters, something BIG has to change. It is deeply attached to our faith in God accomplishing those tasks, what we ourselves do to complete the job ahead of us, and whether the two are in harmony and fit into the overall picture.

The subject of dating within God's Church has apparently gathered a strong wind and some have expressed hopelessness, others have spread dissent and tyranny, while a few keep the hope of love and romance alive. As is the case with democracy, love is a fragile concept. It has been misunderstood by some, applied erroneously by many and established by a courageous few. Much as with the headlines with the War on Terror, we put our focus on the failures and struggles that we face while ignoring the good that is being accomplished.

Case in point, we pay too much attention to the heartache we've suffered and how we've been wronged. I am one who has done so and I bear the responsibilities and consequences of doing so. It leads to bitterness, anger, and loss of hope, lack of faith and opens the door to pessimism, a negative attitude. Doing so makes the battle more uphill than it already is, and we are left with a lack of fortitude to see the fight through. The vision becomes blurred and we let ourselves become hopeless.

There are some who have a misconstrued idea as to what we refer to as the War on Terror. Some think that the rhetoric refers to a universal belief in which the opposite sex is to blame entirely for the failures we have encountered in dating, how we approach it and the overall picture of relationships in the Church. This administration has not endorsed a policy of blame-all without proposing solutions. That is the essence of what I am trying to get at, being able to see where there can be agreement or at least explain how we can all improve our chances at success. It cannot be achieved by being encamped in two oppositional trenches aiming the weaponry at each other. Bipartisanship is what is desperately needed to achieve success. We should not much care about which side of the aisle we sit on – as long as we are willing to cross that aisle when there is work to be done. Outside of the Church’s Work, there is no greater work that needs to be accomplished in our lifetimes. This HAS to change if we are to partake of the same happiness we have seen a courageous few apply.

As Churchgoers, we try to keep our focus on the BIG picture. Sometimes it is difficult to do so when we get caught up in the distractions of everyday life. We try our hardest to prepare for what is just ahead, regardless of how far off that might be. We also work and educate ourselves so we could be able to provide and live a somewhat comfortable physical life. It is difficult to balance these two views, caring about a world that we KNOW is perishing. Standards and expectations remain high even though they might not be realistic.

Partly, the War on Terror rhetoric refers to the unrealistic expectations of the opposite gender. We are venturing in what I refer to as a crusade, bringing back the romance, courting, and chivalry to a society that has no idea what those terms are or the importance they have in how we conduct our lives. It seems that there is an abundance of talking a good game, saying the things that the other gender likes to hear but a lack of will to implement what should be so simple. There is talk of just wanting to settle with a converted mate, to endure through life’s struggles together, in essence, to find enduring happiness. How are we to accomplish this mission when we face enormous obstacles?

Why are we so open-ended about relationships and commitment? Are we truly “open-ended about our options”, “waiting for the right guy/girl to come into our lives” or do we simply push away the best thing that God could send our way? We CANNOT have it both ways. To pray to God to provide and proceed to push him/her out when we can potentially achieve that happiness is utterly indefensible. There are going to be struggles and I suggest we break off the idea we all have concocted in our minds about the perfect scenario. We ourselves are not perfect; there is no Utopia in sight, the perfect spouse is not coming through the door anytime soon. It is time to stop engaging in a thought process that is a total disconnect from reality. The fact is that we need not to lower our standards but to make our expectations compatible with reality.

Reality is that there is an impending collapse of Western society, as we know it. Life is a lot more difficult for us than it was for our parents. I suggest speaking with those who gave you life and gain insight as to what they went through in their marriages. Too often we see the “finished” product of a happy marriage but we do not see the blood, sweat and tears that went into such a magnificent creation. We see the happiness and joy of some but do not have any concept of what it takes to have a joyous relationship eventually leading to marriage.

It is safe to say we seek to serve God, to love and support a spouse, to live happily… to have God and each other. Whatever your beliefs are, they are not in favor of failure. Let us take this moment to look within ourselves for a new strategy, a strategy of hope.

Rebirth of an Administration

Well the KC Weekend came and went and it was incredibly fulfilling and enjoyable. Once again it felt like a mini-Feast condensed in one weekend. It is becoming THE event to attend if you didn't get to spend the Feast with your friends. A lot of hard work went into it and I am grateful for those who made it happen.

The weekend was wonderful in all areas. I enjoyed the Bible Study and seeing people from all over the country coming for this one weekend. A group of us went to Applebee's on Friday night and had a grand ole time catching up with friends, singing along, dancing and referring to the War on Terror. Richard Pomicter and I served as chaffeurs for the weekend although he did more of the driving in my car than I did. The Sabbath started off wonderfully as we picked up two of this administration's sympathizers for brunch at IHOP. Needless to say, it was great to spend time with God's people and have meaningful conversation with them. We arrived at services and it was as hard to find seats as it was in Copper Mountain. I wasn't expecting to see almost 500 people attend a regional weekend. The sermon was given by Dr. Winnail and he brought up some great points on what guys and girls expect out of each other as well as what healthy families practice. It will go a long way if we start applying those lessons on a daily basis.

After services there was a massive potluck but surprisingly I was not hungry and did not eat. I think it surprised a lot of people that I was saying no to food. I enjoyed the dancing though, especially to the salsa songs I recommended. It's always a good time to bust out my Latin moves which I don't do nearly enough. It's the strongest hand this administration has so it was enjoyable to get out there and dance :)

We did the afterparty thing at the Hayden's with the other 50 people who were there. High times that night for the regime since there were great conversations with wonderful people involved. I think I went to bed at around 4am and woke up the next day pumped about the sports. I played with Jason, Juan and Chris and we played fairly well together. We played Josh's team twice and those were fun games. I think the most intense game was the one we played against the "LCG" team with the shiny jerseys. Great game all around and some good basketball was played. Unfortunately we lost one game but hopefully better planning will go in for next year since the brackets kinda fell apart after awhile.

New Years was spent at many different locations: at the Keesee's to watch Hitch (one of my favorite movies), at the bowling alley, a brief stop at Fox & Hound (I got a free beer out of it), and then Richard Olson's place. Great times all around and it was sad to see everybody go.

It seems that in spite of the Democratic takeover of Congress there is still a will to fight the War that is before us. These are dark times for the Jedi but as long as we're standing we can overcome the obstacles set before us. The sympathizers seem to be numbering up but we need greater and more emphatic support. We're still relevant, alive and kickin'.