Black Friday...

First of all, I pray you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I hope that you all that are reading this had a chance to truly reflect on how blessed you are.  A few of you may not be believers that God is the reason for your blessings, but for us that are right, we're thankful to a God who truly blesses.  However, I have a bit of an issue.

Just a little food for thought

Now, I'm not innocent in this.  I can show some pretty ungrateful and greedy tendencies at times.  However, I'm fairly annoyed by some of the behavior of people today.  We just sat around a table all happy and thankful.  We share good times with friends and family.  Talk about how we're in America, living free from tyranny and stuff like they do in other countries.  And then stores decide to have Black Friday sales.  Now, Black Friday extends to the afternoon of Thanksgiving.  Now, I'm not upset about stores doing this.  In this economy, businesses need to gain as much money as possible and Black Friday is usually the day they go from red to black.  I have no qualms with that.  I also have no issue with people getting into huge lines to shop for major deals.  

Yep yep

It's what I just posted in the picture.  People trampling, attacking, and doing everything possible to beat other people to these deals.  It's dragging your children that should be in bed to the store.  It's pushing elderly people all over the place to get that last blender or high definition television.  It's just acting like a complete and utter barbarian for stuff.  Stuff that just three weeks ago you said you couldn't afford because a particular man became president.  Oh yes, I went there.  I don't want to hear anyone who went out hunting deals and spending money complaining about how the economy is in shambles and they can't afford anything anymore.  

Like the previous picture, we're forgetting that there are people who will never get the opportunity have a Black Friday to go all crazy for.  There are kids in other places, and in America, that just can't afford to get even the simplest of pleasures.  And it's not the kids' fault, so we should do what we can to help them.  We need to stop this whole "gotta have everything" attitude and start having a "gotta help as many as possible" attitude.  

If you want to know what I'm most thankful for, it's simple.  I'm thankful for my God who saved me Hell.  It's my family who supports me no matter what.  It's my friends who always make me smile and laugh.  I got to hang out with a wonderful friend a couple of days ago.  It was such a blessing.  I'm sure I'll see some more friends.  I'll be just as grateful.  I can afford to eat, sleep, and live in a place because of my awesome occupations.  One day, we all will get this idea that people are more important than dang near killing each other for a sale that a couple weeks ago, we weren't even thinking about going to because we were in such a terrible spot because the Evil Democrat won the election again.

Yep, I said it.  

Hectic Hump Day

I haven't done one of these in a while.  I have to say that it feels good to just chill at home for a couple of days.  Pretty cool to have a couple days off from the fella.  I've spent most of those days just catching up on doing little to nothing.

One of the things I did was have a lunch/dinner at a place called Jerusalem Restaurant.  If you're in Roanoke, it's on Williamson Road, near the Shell Station across from Long John Silvers.  Their pizza is amazing.  I'd suggest anyone to get the Meat Lovers pizza.  They deliver, so don't worry about the whole going out to dinner thing.  Also, if you do want to go out to eat, don't let the interior fool you.  The booths are kind of ugly, but the food is pretty good.

I seem to have upset some people with yesterday's blog.  That's okay with me.  Mostly because I want to engage my readers in discussion about things.  I want to know what others are thinking when I post.  I don't want people blindly agreeing with me.  I'd rather have spirited discussion about things.  With that being said, let me just say that I stand by my opinion.  My opinion that there are a lot of people who discredit and disrespect the President because he's a man of color is backed with pretty decent evidence.  I've never seen a President get the amount of disrespect and bashing that President Obama gets in my life.  The fact that he's a black man isn't a coincidence.  I do believe that a lot of people disagree with his policies.  I believe that his ideals are polarizing.  However, we can't discount the fact that his ideas and policies have been on other politicians' agendas for years, yet only now are we calling the President "unconstitutional."  I'm just saying.

Apparently there's a new product out call the WaxVac.  It's supposed to vacuum out earwax and water from your earlobes.  The commercial showed the "dangers" of using a cotton swab in your ear.  The man screamed bloody murder.  Now look, I'm all for making products look a little better than they are for posterity's sake, but that's a little ridiculous.  I don't think a Q-Tip can cause that kind of injury.  Maybe if you put it in someone's eyeball.

If you live in Miami, I'm very sorry about your Marlins.  I'm very sorry that you are going to be paying tons of tax dollars towards building a stadium for a lousy team in it.  Also feel bad that they made you think they'd be good enough to justify the tax money.  It's kind of unfair.

Not sure when I'll be able to post again.  I have to report back to the fella tomorrow.  Till then...

This is Getting Out of Hand

By now, you all know that Barack Obama successfully was re-elected President of the United States.  Apparently, the hard feelings haven't subsided.  In fact, I'd say they've gotten pretty amped up.  It's sad, really.  The fact that there are 20+ states filing petitions for secession from the United States just baffles my mind.

I understand that President Obama was a terrible choice for all the Fox News/Republican contingent.  I even understand having some hard feelings towards the man for some of his policies.  However, to go through the process of actually trying to leave the greatest country in the world because of it?  That's a little extreme, don't you think?

Look, I'm all for freedom of speech.  I'm all for freedom of expression.  I'm totally against censorship.  However, how can someone want to leave?  How can someone hate a person in power so much that they want to start a petition to leave a country?  And I'll go ahead and say that all this secession talk is code for "we don't want to be run by a black man for another four years."  I know that's a hard nut to swallow, but racism and hatred are still prevalent in this country.  It's bordering on ridiculous.

Now, to any of you that are reading this and signed the petition, I have one thing to say.  Go ahead and leave the country.  It's obvious that you don't want to be the bigger person and accept your fate.  However, don't go to Canada.  They're more liberal than Obama.  Don't go to Mexico, the water is bad.  I'd move to Antarctica if I were you.  No wait, the penguins are black and white.  Don't want none of that mixing going on there.

Seriously though, this whole thought of secession is stupid.  Like I said in previous blog, it could be God's will that Obama is president.  Let go of this whole idea and just keep praying to God for him.  Give God the glory and just roll with this.  Don't try to leave.  Don't try to make a stink about being your own country.  And I don't care about how "peaceful" this petition is, you're being hateful.

Sit Down for This One

This is kind of a mix between an open letter, an editorial, and a call to arms.  I'll hit a lot of subjects about this past week.

First of all, I must congratulate Barack Obama for being elected to a second term in office as the President of the United States.  I know that it was a tough go, but you made it, so congrats.

I understand that there are a lot of people that aren't happy about this development.  In fact, my Facebook news feed was flooded by people showing their displeasure for the outcome.  And truth be told, I really have no problem with that.  However, I did have a problem with the incessant name calling by those not happy with the results.  Some of my friends called Obama voters "stupid."  They claimed that voting him President would cause an influx of doomsday type thoughts.  Voting one man to be president doesn't make the universe any closer to Armageddon.  God is in control, and if He wants the world to end, He'd do it, no matter who the president is.  Also, you'll still have a job more than likely.  Also, no one is going to take your paycheck and spend it on health insurance and food stamps for lazy people.

I couldn't believe my friends, and in particular my fellow Christians throwing insult after insult upon the people that may have voted differently from them.  It honestly hurt my heart.  Christ never once told us to rip people apart for their political beliefs.  People actually questioned the Christianity of voters who didn't pledge their allegiance to Romney the second he won the Republican nomination.  Personally, I don't think a Christian should want a Mormon to be a leader of the nation.  I hate to break it to you, but Mormonism is a divisive and terrible group that does nothing to advance the kingdom of God.  For a Christian to be okay with him kind of scares me.

I'm also not happy with my Obama supporter friends.  It's mostly because they've been fairly obnoxious about this victory.  They were also quite annoying with the whole, "Republicans hate women" rhetoric. I'm fairly sure that most Republicans like women.  In fact, I'd say they possibly like them a little too much after some stories I've heard.  Just because a Republican says he doesn't like abortion, doesn't mean he hates women.  Maybe they want the baby to be alive more than the pregnant mother to be relieved of her responsibility.  Yes, I know about the whole equal pay for equal work controversy, but I'm sure most Republicans believe that everyone should be respected to the point that they get equal compensation.

Look, I'm just tired of seeing hatred and venom being spewed for the sake of it being spewed.  I'm bothered by Christians not using Christ's example of praying for those in charge of us.  "Give to Caesar, what is Caesar's" isn't a suggestion.  It's a command.  We are to give our leaders our undivided prayers and support, no matter how much they've hurt you...even though them being president isn't what you wanted.  We are to give our leaders respect.  What happened to respecting the office of the president?   I'm seeing everyone call our president horrible names.  That's not how Christ envisioned it.

Dear God,
Please be with our President.  Supply him with wisdom to do his job to the best of his ability. Help us to remember that spewing hate will not get your kingdom any bigger.  Forgive us for being so involved with our selfish desires that we don't think about how we're making You look in the process.  Thank you for this awesome nation where we can vote and make our voices heard.  Allow us to show our future generations how special it is to be an American and also how important it is to vote.  Never let us forget that You are ultimately in control.  Thank you for all you've given us.
Amen

I didn't do half bad with this.

Am I Better Off?

When driving to work, I often drive through a neighborhood.  In that neighborhood is a yard with a sign.  The sign says "Are You REALLY Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?"  Now, I have to explain my life four years ago.

In the beginning of 2008, I was a youth pastor at a local church.  I was enjoying my job, however, I was having a hard time keeping up with my healthy ambitions.  Along with being a youth pastor, I was also working at the YMCA every night until almost 9 at night.  I also did subsititute teaching for Roanoke County Schools.  With all that work I was doing, I was losing focus on my ministry.  I wasn't where God wanted me.

Fast forward to about September of 2008.  I got a job working in the Autism Program in Roanoke County.  That's where I felt the Good Lord calling me to be in Special Education as a teacher.  I became truly enamored in what I was doing.  I also joined a new church.  I truly believe I'm in the best church I've ever been in.  I have a hard time seeing any church like I see my church.  I feel blessed and grateful to be asked to do anything involving ministry at this church.  I never felt that way anywhere else, including where I was youth pastoring.

Fast Forward to now.  I am on my fifth year in the County.  I have normal roommates...well as normal as I can ask for from Craigslist.  I have some of the best friends a guy could ask for.  God has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams.

Basically, I am better off than I was four years ago.  Here's the catch.  None of this was President Obama's fault.  This was by the grace of God and my accepting of God's blessings.  Obama had nothing to do with anything God has blessed me with.  I also don't believe Mitt Romney will do anything to help or hurt my blessings from God.  God is going to bless me if I do everything to show Him honor.  It doesn't matter who I vote for, God will bless His people.  It may not be financially, but blessings are blessings no matter what.

As you all go to the polls and vote, don't look to the person you're voting for help.  They aren't there to help you.  They are there to make their lobbyists and major donors happy.  If you just happen to get something, it's because God blessed you.  Remember that in the end, God is in control.  Also, if someone votes differently than you, get over it.  It doesn't mean anything other than they have different thoughts on how the country should be run.