We The People....

For those of us who vote and pay attention, we are serious about our politics.  Somehow we have it in our minds that how we vote and what party we put in office will make a VAST difference in how we live, how we prosper and how we can pursue happiness. 

So here we are , another election year and we are on edge.  We want a candidate that looks presidential, gets the job done, will represent us well, will be honest and forthcoming, will respect our allies but confront our enemies.  We want someone who will fight for our rights and protect us from those who want to do us harm.  We don’t want to be penalized for our success, but want a chance to reach the top with our own business dreams. That is a tall order.

I remember many years ago going through these discussions with my kids.  My daughter was nearing 18 and interested in knowing what to look for when she voted.  Being the slight rebel that I am, I couldn’t find it in my heart to follow one particular party or lead them to do the same.  So early on I chose to vote for the person, not the party.  I would never vote for someone due to their race or gender only.  I am not interested in “Making History” if it is not going to make the future better and further God's agenda.   I always had to hear more.  So, along with my kids, I sat and watched the debates. Sometimes I am horrified at the choices, sometimes my voting decision is made after hearing them all.  Other times, like now…. It is so discouraging. 

 

FREEDOM REIGNS!

Then I got free.  Somehow we have it in our minds that ONE person- (Not an AVENGER with superhero strength) is going to change everything that is wrong in our country.  They will come in and within 4-8 years, they will turn the economy around, pay off all our debts, get rid of ISIS without harming innocent people and they will ensure that all their promises come to pass (even with a congress that might be stacked against them)

Us expecting someone to fix our problems is much like this excerpt from 1 Samuel 8- (later read the full chapter, it will explain a lot!) 

 (v 4-7) So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.  They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”  But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.   And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.” 

Samuel who represented the Spiritual Leadership in that time had sons that were no longer following in God's ways.  (much like many of us who say this is a Christian Nation, but God's ways are old and outdated)  And the people were not crazy; they knew it and wanted something they could depend on.  So they asked for a KING.   Samuel told them what they would get with a king, someone who would use the role selfishly, would take advantage of their daughters, would have men running around them all day before their chariot/cars (sounds like secret service) He would tax them to pay for all those who serve him.  Samuel let them know the down falls of insisting they needed a king,  but  the people wanted a  king. So God gave them what they wanted, but not without a warning...

 

 

 "When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”  But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us.  (v18-19)

So here we are now, just like in bible days, we have this system that leaves God out, leadership we can't agree on and we are not liking it.    The answer to issues we are having and the security we seek has never been and will never be in our president. 

CAN WE TRUST THE CANDIDATES?

If you know me, I am as patriotic as the next person.  But my trust is not in what a man or woman can do for me.  Our next president will NOT FIX AMERICA.  God won’t let him or her.  Why?  Because He has always said, if we turn to Him, He would bless the land.  The more we lean on flesh, the further we get from the blessings.     

 

Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the Lord."  

 Jeremiah 17:5

So if we are told that flesh cannot be trusted, we still need to do our due diligence.  Yes, listen to the debates, pray, vote for the person you feel will do their job the best they can.  They will NOT be perfect, and they will NOT keep all their promises.  They can’t.  Their opponents will NOT let them, and some of the candidates priorities may get put on the back burner due to other distractions.  Not to mention sometimes the candidates tell us what we want to hear, just to get our votes. 

 

MY THOUGHTS ON KEY POINTS

• The president should have a hand in ending systemic racial bias- but how we treat our neighbor, is on us.  No law can make us think and act differently towards each other.  But there should be consequences for breaking the laws we do set in place.
• The president should work on securing our borders- but how did all of us get here? We have to be honest that the border problem is bigger than walls.
• Gun control makes sense, but criminals will NOT turn theirs in!  Kind of hard to disarm law abiding citizens who want to use them legally.  (I will note though, many of the recent incidents were done by citizens who were licensed, law abiding citizens- before they were law breakers, it is deeper than what we intend- that can change)
• No president or government official can fix what we refuse to participate in or agree upon.   No matter what they do, one side will be happy, the other not.

HOW I AM VOTING

I know it is unpopular to talk politics, but this year and from now on…. I am voting for ...
 

ME...trusting God!  I am casting my vote to trust God to protect me when things get bad, to provide for me when things get tight.  He did for others in the bible and He has no problems with any of us- if we have faith.   I trust Him to help me rise above the racism that may be systemic  and provide a table for me in the presence of my enemies.  I know promotion does not come from the east or west, not the south… but I will lift up my eyes to HIM.  That is where my help comes from, not government programs that can keep me in poverty.  I know He has promises for me that He will always keep, but I have to participate with Him.  I will vote, I will appreciate those who serve and pray for them, like He told me to...but my trust will NEVER be in them.  I will hold my peace when I disagree, and pray…knowing that God has the ability to change the hearts of kings.   And if it looks bad, I still have a promise that when I trust God and am called according to His purpose:  All these things (good and bad) will still work together for my GOOD.  I will make my own change, build my own walls, crack my own ceilings, build my own wealth, handle my finances and decrease my own debt.  I will make God great again in my world and make my future safe by putting my life in the hands of the ONE who holds tomorrow.  

Yes, I will continue to listen to the debates and follow what is going on so I can vote responsibly, but I have already made the main choice, I am with HIM- THE LORD OF LORD AND KING OF KINGS.

 

 I am Jacqui Hill Goudeau, and I approve this message.

What NOW?

 

As a believer, I keep trying to blog on topics that are uplifting and encouraging.  But, every week there is SOMETHING in the news that throws that.  I think maybe we have become too accustomed to living our life and the only things that move us are things that directly affect us, so after a bit of time, we forget about the problems in the world as we address the drama in our own world.

We have heard so much about the shootings and problems from our media.  From a quarterback refusing to stand during the national anthem, to a young boy shot before he had a chance to look up.  Now there is Terence Crutcher, an unarmed man with a broke down car, and a man who was waiting for his child at the bus stop, reading a book – both shot and killed.  This morning we wake to reports of overnight riots, fires and chaos in a community that cannot afford the price tag.

What NOW?

I was talking to a friend the other night after hearing about the recent death of yet another black man at the hands of police officers.  Once again, a video is shown, a man who supposedly was in the road because of car problems was gunned down.  The play by play from the helicopter was almost as disturbing as the video.  Hearing the voices of men calmly stating that  “he is still walking”, “he is still moving”, “time for a Taser” , 'He looks like a big bad dude." then ‘boom’….  “Shots Fired.”  As the helicopter wraps around the side we watch as Mr. Crutcher falls to the ground.  The VERY NEXT comment from the helicopter deals with closing roads.  Not what just happened or any questions on whether or not Mr. Crutcher did something out of their sight that warranted the gunfire.  No shock that they just witnessed another shooting.  It was business as usual. There was more effort to shut down the streets than there was to help a dying man.  According to the video, I didn’t see them approach him for quite a while.  If he had a gun, should they not look to disarm him?  Push the gun away from a hand that could possibly still reach for it? Perhaps hand cuff him, or render aid so he has his time in court to argue what he was doing?  They used to do that.  But no aid, no follow up and the abundance of police officers just happened to block the dash camera so all we see is the helicopter view.

What Now?

"I’m having a hard time."  I told my friend.  I was not raised racist or prejudice, so I don’t know how to change that now, nor do I plan to.  Probably much like people who were raised in a racist environment I am sure they have a hard time changing how they think.  But my current struggle is this:

How do I reconcile this in my mind?

I support our officers and our first responders, but what do I tell my son?

How can we pretend nothing is wrong if an armed suspected terrorist who has shot 2 police officers and set off bombs with the intent to kill- walks away with an injury, but alive- with all the medical attention needed to assist him; but an unarmed man who has his hands up, is shot and left on the cold concrete to die?  Life is becoming harder to explain, not just to my son…but to myself.

I realize there may be a REASON we want the terrorist alive, maybe to answer questions, to help us locate other threats.  But, any tax paying American citizen (black, white or otherwise) who is not trying to kill anyone surely deserves to get out of an encounter with police…. ALIVE.

Irreconcilable Differences?

Our news coverage today sounded normal.  It is becoming the norm to hear about these occurrences and put a #hashtag on it.  It is normal for the news cast  to begin covering these shootings and once another interesting story comes up, we stop the dialog. 

I was disturbed that more time was spent this morning talking about the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie break up.  (Yes, it is really happening), irreconcilable differences.  It is sad when we are more interested in how they will handle their relationship, and who will get custody of their 6 kids.  Either way they go, their kids will be considered by both parents.  Divorce is never good, but it is survivable. But what about us?

 

The race relationship we have in America has hit a horrible low.  Are we going to cite irreconcilable differences and allow fellow Americans to suffer because we won’t do anything about it?   To allow our kids to grow up in fear that neither side is willing to come to the table and talk?  Irreconcilable is supposed to mean it cannot be fixed.  But it is really the courts way of allowing you to separate without having to talk or go through the rights and wrongs of the relationship.  It stops us  from having to point fingers and have difficult conversations.   We cannot afford that as Americans.  WE deserve and need to have the difficult talks and we need to point out things that just by looking- you know it is wrong.   We need the powers that be to realize we have a problem, a serious downward spiral that has to be changed. Just because it has not happened to your kid, your father, your spouse, does not mean it is not happening.

Undercover Racism?

If you still think we don’t have race issues… just look at ANY report of the occurrences that happened this past week.  Read the comments from everyday Americans who can post their thoughts without being found out.  We have undercover racism on all sides.  I can’t believe the things that people say in any news story when they feel no one can trace them.  The comments they post just because the race of a person is noted, or the assumptions they make are sickening. Due to our political climate, it is becoming acceptable to state what you think about other nationalities.  It is popular to use terms that used to be spoken only in the company of likeminded people.  Now the covers have been pulled, and if we really open our eyes... we will see the problem.  NO more pretending it does not exist.  

If we are not held accountable for how we treat each other, this HUMAN RACE relationship will not make it. 

 

America, What NOW? 

I am still not sure what we are going to do.  In the meantime, I will continue talking to my young son about how he plays with his nerf gun outside, how he talks to any authority and how things are not as easy for him as it was for his 4 sisters.  (So wrong since we really wanted a son)  I will continue to pray for our country and my friends of all nationalities so that we can keep our relationships strong regardless of what others are trying to do to race relations.  I will look for ways to participate in the solution, not the problem and will still stand for our national anthem, support our first responders and pray that my actions are not in vain.  

Faith is only the beginning.

We have to do something.

Remembering September 11, 2001

 

I used to envy people who could answer the question “Where were you when…?”   I was not good at that since my memory didn’t allow me to recall some of the most notable dates and what I was doing or where I was at the time.  So whenever someone would ask that question, I would simply listen for everyone else’s answer.  That is until 9/11.

I was 40 years old and 7 ½ months pregnant with my son.  I remember watching the accounts of the day in disbelief.  I thought about the horror of bringing my son into a world where someone hates us enough to do something so evil.  It left me with a sickening feeling in my stomach; I hoped my unborn child could not feel it.

I thought of all the people who followed their ‘get ready for work’ routine, just like I did.  Yes, they made it to work, but would never go home.  Then there were the images of planes full of passengers crashing into buildings, watching as people made their last decision to jump from a burning building.  Others made decisions to take on hijackers who had control of their plane, knowing they wouldn't be able to fly it.  We watched as people fled once the towers crumbled, running in a cloud of dust and debris.  And then there was the paper.  So much paper,  reminders that someone’s memo, invoice or proposal was not going to be faxed, signed or delivered that day.

 My mind and heart goes out to the thousands of people who will never be the same.  I can’t imagine the grief and hurt that the families endured and continue to have to endure since that day.  

I DON’T COMPLAIN

 

 

As a result of many changes since 9/11, there are things I no longer complain about, like the wait at the airport, or having to remove my shoes and jacket.  I am tempted to get uneasy if I am running late, but then I remember.   I have had my hair patted down; my body patted down and had to repack bags after being searched.  But again, I don’t complain.  When we visited Disney World in 2012, we had to have our purses and bags checked - a normal occurrence now.  Some events we have attended within this city wouldn’t allow us to take a bag in. Again….I don’t complain.

 

 

I thank pilots and flight attendants when I enter the plane, when they serve me during the flight, and thank them again when I exit the plane.  I don’t take for granted that they too are traveling with me and If there was ever an issue, I want them to know we are in this together.   Our nation has changed quite a bit, how we travel has changed, how we entertain has changed.

I don’t think that 9/11 changed us for the worst, we were better … at least for a while.

THEN WE FORGOT.

After we got our footing, this nation was united.  We knew who our enemy was and were ready to fight.  We talked patriotism, we breathed RED, WHITE, AND BLUE, and we were connected even through our differences.  But over the years, we forgot.

We forgot our common enemy is not our neighbors, the police, our political opponent or those that support them.  Our enemy is not someone who decides to use their right to carry guns or to have an abortion or even sit on the sidelines during the national anthem.   Our common enemy is still out there, probably laughing at who we have become. 

 

We missed the real plan of 9/11 was to divide us.  Fear divides.  A house divided against itself,  cannot stand.  Fear does that, it makes you run for cover just for yourself, forgetting who you trample over and who gets left behind in the process.   Fear makes us suspicious of each other.  It makes us arm ourselves with guns- legally or illegally and look for  targets outside our door.  It makes us succumb to road rage and take out our frustrations on each other.  It makes us think that everyone is out to make us late, to cut in front of us or hurt us.  Fear makes us think that differences in others, are lethal to our own way of life.   Fear was once defined as False Evidence Appearing Real.   We have been fooled into thinking that we are not ‘One Nation Under God’, but ‘One Nation Under Siege’; and the battle is with each other in our neighborhoods and schools.  We have been sold a mindset and we bought it.

 

But our enemy is not each other; it is not even just those that mean us wrong.  Our greatest enemy is the fear we have allowed to govern our lives and stunt our hopes, destroy our dreams. That is what TERRORISTS did on 9/11, they brought fear.

 

CASTING OUT FEAR

The bible says “perfect love casts out all fear."  Here are two types of LOVE we need renewed in America:

LOVE FOR THOSE YOU LOVE

Greater love hath no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends.  John 15:13

This is the easier love.  It is the one that makes someone take a bullet for their child, spouse, or friend.  It is what makes us do something out of the ordinary for those we know and love.  Laying down our life can mean our thoughts, our differences, our prejudices or our preferences to keep peace with our friends and family, each one choosing to consider the other.  Why sweat the stuff that will not matter on your death bed?  We have to learn again to really love those we SAY we love. Too many children are abused or dying at the hands of a parent, or a close family friend.   We see marital or romantic relationships that end with someone hurting someone else.  We need to learn to genuinely love those we SAY we love. Learn to compromise and consider those closest to us.  That will help us band together again as the human race to combat fear.

LOVE FOR THOSE WHO MAY NOT LOVE YOU

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.    For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.    But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:6-8 6  

Loving and dying for someone you love should be easier.  Loving and dying for someone who does not regard you, is divine.  This is where it can hurt most.  Scarcely might we die for someone who is good or someone who is right; but this scripture talks about being willing to die, or lay down our lives our thoughts or differences for someone we don’t agree with, or who does not like or regard us.  Not losing ourselves, but trying to understand that life consists of many views, many thoughts and I can listen to one without giving up my own.  Every discussion does not have to end in a fight!

This is kind of what our first responders do every day.   They run into situations to possibly DIE for people who may hate their uniform, people who may not care about them as people or those who outright mean them harm.  

 

On September 11, 2001- over 300 men and women ran into a dire situation to rescue and help people they didn’t know.  If they had met on the streets or a grocery store the day before this tragedy, they may not have given each other the time of day.    There may have been vast differences, but that didn’t stop our First Responders from doing their job.  They ran into a situation and died trying to help someone who may not have even liked them.  

 

That is what 9/11 reminds me of, a nation united, willing to lay aside differences for a common goal. I know it is easier said than done, but if we want to overcome fear, we have to learn to love each other whether we agree or not.   As we remember 9/11, don’t forget we are in this together. 

We will NEVER agree on everything, we will never be on the same side politically, but we can be on the same side as a nation.  We can stand for what we know is right, understanding that just because someone has an extreme view that is different from mine does not mean I belong and they don’t.  We all belong here and together we can defeat the fear that has gripped us since 9/11.

 

We can’t let the enemy win.  We are Americans, let’s live, love and fight like it.

Take a Knee and Stand for Something!

My son is a football player.  According to him, a pretty good one.

He is playing not because I am for it... (after he came home with a HUGE bruise on his left side)  but between him and his father… he is playing football. 

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the game.  I just can’t wrap my mind around him getting hit that hard.  I  got the movie “Concussion” hoping he would watch it with me and change his mind,...he didn't.  So now I am the only one with those images in my mind.  

One day he came home and told me about a player who was injured and how all the team “took a knee” during the game.   I know they do this at the end of a game to run the clock down, but he explained that it also was done out of respect for the injured player.  That made me think about Kaepernick.

Colin Kaepernick is an NFL quarterback who has decided to ‘take a knee’ during the playing of the National Anthem before his games.   His decision to sit is troubling to many and bold to others.   I for one will always stand, that is how I was raised.  But I also know that he has the RIGHT to sit.  We all do.   Service men and women have died to give him that right so I won't say he is wrong but I do have another problem with it. 

The main problem I have with him sitting during the National Anthem, is the socks. 

 

The bible talks about “A little leaven (yeast) leavens the whole lump”  Meaning if you put even a little bit of yeast in bread dough, you have yeast in bread dough.  The yeast will do what the yeast will do.  Here is why I have a problem with the socks:

 

A little bit of hate changes your cause.  A little bit of racism changes your cause.  A little bit of controversy can taint your cause.  The cause in itself may be right and pure, but a little bit of impurity, changes it.  

How many of you would love to drink the purest water in the world with just a touch of cyanide?  None of us!  Even if it was not enough to kill us, over a period of time we would feel the effects of the poison and it could eventually kill us.  That is how I feel about Kaepernick’s socks.  His socks depict a pig wearing a police officer's cap.  It is supposed to be in protest of police brutality.   You have the right to sit out, you have a rightful cause that you are sitting for, but if you put even a little bit of hate, or division, you have just changed your cause.   Not everyone wants to drink with you, unless they too have already been poisoned and feel they have nothing to lose.

 

IT IS BIGGER THAN SOCKS

 

I keep reminding people, the police officers are not the enemy any more than the black community or any other community is.  If we (either side) put everyone in a ‘lump’ and call them poison, we have just done to them what we are asking them to NOT do.   There has to be a better way to make our point and focus on the real problem if we want to solve it.

There is a lot going on in America right now.  Good and bad, we have an election that is simply ‘scary’ on both sides.   We have the threat of terrorism and a generation that does not respond to authority.  We still have poverty and hunger in the greatest nation and many have  goals in life that  involve making more money instead of creating more opportunities.

TAKING A KNEE FOR AMERICA

 

America is injured.  It seems we need to ‘take a knee’.  But honestly, how we ‘take a knee’  will determine whether or not we see change.   Think about it...  If everyone took a knee during the National Anthem, for all the things that they felt were wrong in America or in their personal lives, who would be left standing?   What do you feel is a real problem in America right now?   Now ask yourself, is that the ONLY problem?  It might be most important to you, but someone else has another issue that they believe needs attention as well.  If we waited for every problem in America to be fixed, we would never stand.

 

 

 

IT IS TIME TO STAND

“If you don’t stand for something you can fall for anything.”   I heard this saying many years ago, and have used it over the years.  It deals with standing up for what you believe,  doing something or you might be subject to anything.   There comes a time that instead of sitting, we need to stand.  Standing takes more courage, it takes more work and it causes you rise above other things.  It is time for us to rise, to do what we can to see change instead of just protesting. There is a mutual responsibility we all share for seeing change because protesting is good to bring attention to a problem, but if we keep acting like there is no problem, we get more protests.  In the same sense, if all we do is protest, we never work to solve the problem. 

 

So it was, from that time on, that half of my servants worked at construction, while the other half held the spears, the shields, the bows, and wore armor; and the leaders were behind all the house of Judah.    Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon.    Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built. And the one who sounded the trumpet was beside me.   Then I said to the nobles, the rulers, and the rest of the people, "The work is great and extensive, and we are separated far from one another on the wall.   Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us."                   Nehemiah 4:16-20

 

This is an account in the bible that talks about how Nehemiah sought to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.  (Not referencing building THAT wall!)   It talks about how he protested (silently) before the king and received legal permission to rebuild the walls.  Just because the change was approved didn’t mean it was going to be easy, because he still had to deal with enemies and issues from those who didn’t want the wall built. 

The part I love the most is when he said as the builders began to work, they held a weapon in one hand and tools in the other.   They learned how to be ready to fight and build. 

Not just fighting.  Not just building.

There is a place to protest, to make your requests known and then do something about it.   Sometimes we have to be prepared to battle for the cause (not physically) and build at the same time.  If you protest by tearing down your community, you are fighting against yourselves, and you will not be able to stand.  It will take much longer to build again and that type of protest is tainted with poison. 

If we really want to see change, we can sit. We have the right to protest.  But  after we draw attention to the cause, it is time to stand, to work, to fight and build.   Be aware of how you protest, because a little leavening leavens the whole lump- so even a little bit of poison in good bread corrupts it all.  So if you are going to make a change, consider the whole loaf, not just the part you are eating, because even if your cause starts out pure, no one is eating your bread.

And finally, my revision of an old saying........

"If you don’t stand for something, you have sat for nothing."