Archives for 2012

Oh boy, folks.  I think I’m in the throes of writing a political post.  My blog might break up with me.  But alas I can’t quit thinking about this and as you know, the only way to make it stop is to write about it.  So yay, you get another political post to read.  I promise not to be mean though, ok?  Promise.

Ok, so we’re Republicans.  I guess you probably guessed that but I just want to level-set here.  Fox News is playing in the background as I type this and it’s normally on every day.  It makes me insane.  I can’t stand how everyone argues and talks over each other and I’m always like, they’re so mean!  And that’s usually as close to politics as I go.

We watched the RNC speeches last week and just because I felt like I needed to be informed and fair, I watched Bill Clinton last night.  I have to say, he’s smooth.  I was just 17 when he was vying for his last term and honestly didn’t pay attention much but I so appreciated that Clinton actually spoke about issues and I could understand them.  And he was funny.   

Todd Heisler/The New York Times

So there was one part that he spoke about and other Democrats had alluded to that I really liked it and yet, it’s what is rubbing me the wrong way:

My fellow Americans, all of us in this grand hall and everybody watching at home, when we vote in this election, we’ll be deciding what kind of country we want to live in. If you want a winner-take- all, you’re-on-your-own society, you should support the Republican ticket. But if you want a country of shared opportunities and shared responsibility, a we’re-all-in-this-together society, you should vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

So that gets me pretty excited. All this sharing and all.  One of my favorite passages in Acts reflects just this:

Acts 4:32-35

³² All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴ that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

So yeah, it sounds like they’re singing the same song, right?  

I think the difference though is how it is being shared.

If you know me and have read here long, you might know that I’m more for an individual approach to this.  Listen.  I paid for medical care for someone yesterday for a procedure that wasn’t covered by Medicaid.  I’m putting my money where my mouth is.

I’ve been reading Bonhoeffer the past week and you don’t need to know anything except that he went as far as to die for his faith in Nazi Germany and before that, he was highly effective at helping people individually.  It’s quite inspiring.

I’m also for this idea of pooling resources together and then distributing.  I mean, that IS what the apostles did. They all laid their money at the apostles’ feet and distributed it. Even Romans suggests we pay taxes for this purpose.

Romans 13:6

New International Version (NIV)

⁶ This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.

Here’s the problem, though.  Many Democrats (not ALL) don’t see the pooling of resources as a task or even responsibility from God.  In fact, many Democrats are pushing for God to be completely out of government as hard as they can.  Did you read where some actually booed God being kept in a section of platform?

So no, I’m not for pooling my resources with people who have no desire to do it under God’s authority and power.  Should it perhaps be the church that is responsible for taking care of the poor? (said with some sarcasm)  If we did have more money from less taxes we would have more money to individually and communally, as a church, help people.

So what’s a Christian who sometimes agrees with Republicans and sometimes likes what a Democrat has to say?

Here’s my only answer: I stick with God.  And for me, that means helping someone who doesn’t have coverage and selling my possessions and giving them to the poor and sponsoring Compassion kids and adopting little a little boy without a father.  In other words, to the best of my ability, I will pay my taxes as it is required and then do what I can to help the church be the church. As for my vote, I will vote for someone who helps me do that better and I truly believe that’s the Republican ticket.

But I guess I just want to say I hear you, Democrats and I like your ideas sometimes. But Republicans aren’t cold, heartless people that only care about building their wealth for themselves.  I’m not interested in leaving people high and dry as Clinton suggested.  Romney talked a lot about his charity last week.  I think we all want to help people but I think we have to realize why we do that and who gives us the authority and power to do so.  Without that, I’m truly afraid for the United States.

I’m not being melodramatic.  As I’m reading Bonhoeffer, I’m seeing so many parallels to Nazi Germany and ya’ll, it seriously scares me to death.

All I can say is I’m praying.  Neither candidate is our Messiah.  They’re not. None of us have it right really. It will only be under God’s authority that any good happens no matter who is President.   God bless the United States, indeed.

PS. I had to rewrite much of this post. As I was writing, Live Writer completely crashed on me, losing much of it.  I guess my blog does want to break up?  I hope you don’t.

I don’t know how to talk about this week.  I decided to jump in–really jump in—and invest in someone. 

I don’t know how to talk about that kind of journey without telling a story that’s not mine to tell and I don’t know how not to say anything as it’s impacting me in great ways.  It’s also hard to write when you’re too busy on the phone and Internet trying to make things happen.

I will share a few things I’m convinced of (again) after just the past few days:

• For those of us that have been blessed with great parents, we ought to be thankful for their influence and all the resources they throw at us.  Please let us not feel entitled to them because they did and do have a choice.
• For those of us that are blessed financially, we need to get to enough and then STOP IT and help someone else with the excess.
• For those of us that are blessed in talents, we need to use them for good when we have the chance.
• We need serious health reform in this country.
• We need to quit making it so darn hard for people in poverty to get help.  It’s easy to sit back and say they just need to get a job and while true in some cases, it’s just not in others.  I know it’s messy but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.
• We can’t assume someone else is going to help that person.  Some people truly do not have a support system around them and you might be their only hope.
• You can’t help rescue someone from the mud and mire without getting smeared with a little mud.
• We all need to floss more.
• Just kidding on that last one but not really.

So I’m sorry for the lack of posting and the vagueness but I’m here.  Looking forward to a weekend of rest and hope you have a lovely one yourself.

I love self-analysis.  I can’t help it.  I truly believe I can always be improving and part of improving is knowing what you’re starting with and what tools you have available.  You think you should know yourself because you know, you are you, but you’d be surprised what you can find out by a few automated questions.

Scott took the StrengthsFinder 2.0 test a few months ago as part of our Journey Group training at church and I was a little bummed I didn’t do it as well. 

I was psyched when just a few weeks later my manager at work forwarded out an email saying he’d just completed the StrengthsFinder 2.0 test and recommended it for my team as well.

My Strengths

image credit

The test comes out with five “Signature Themes” and then gives you action items to build upon those strengths.  Here are my top five themes:

Intellection: You like to think. You like mental activity. You like exercising the “muscles” of your brain, stretching them in multiple directions.

Input: You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information [YES!]—words, facts, books, and quotations—or you might collect tangible objects [NO!} such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity.

Responsibility: Your Responsibility theme forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion.

Restorative: You love to solve problems. Whereas some are dismayed when they encounter yet another breakdown, you can be energized by it. You enjoy the challenge of analyzing the symptoms, identifying what is wrong, and finding the solution.

Achiever: Achiever describes a constant need for achievement. You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself [YES!]. And by “every day” you mean every single day—workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied.

The Meaning

Well, I’m no coach (and they are out there), but the simple fact that I like taking these tests proves the Input theme.  I want more, more, more information.  And why?  So I CAN THINK ABOUT IT.  This amuses me to no end.  All the questions, all the reading, all the listening—it all is Input for me.  And why do I want to think about it?  Because I’m Restorative and I want to FIX THINGS and HELP PEOPLE.  And by the way?  Can we put that on a checklist and do that today? 

The Action

As for the action plan attached to each theme, I found that I’m actually doing many items it suggests and the test actually nailed a few key points.

For Intellection, it suggests I should “list your ideas in a log or diary.”  Or another one, “take time to write". Does a blog count?   Or how about this one, “Find people who like to to talk about the same things you do.”  How about I join Facebook or Twitter and find like-minded people?

For Input, it suggests that all my information I collect should be turned into action and shared.  While I think I do this quite a bit here and through social media, I think I can do an even better job at this, particularly in my work environment. 

Another action item suggests I should “Deliberately increase your vocabulary.  Collect new words, and learn the meaning of each of them.”  HA!  HAHAHAHA!  I hope people that know me are laughing.   It has been a family joke that I had new words emailed to me everyday.  Plus, do you remember this post?  Loved it.

The Restorative action plan suggests I might be a good computer programmer.  Um, ding, ding, ding!!  It also says that “Constant improvement is one of your hallmarks.  See opportunities to enhance your abilities through a demanding field, activity, or endeavor that requires exceptional skill and/or knowledge.”  Reading through the Bible? Summer of 7?  The Daniel Fast?  Couch to 5K? Did you read that first paragraph up there?  I love challenging myself and honestly sometimes I wondered it I was just being silly.

As for things that I need to work on, a few things that stood out:

1. Two of the themes suggest I partner with someone with Focus and Discipline.  Anyone?  Bueller? 
2. I need to be careful not to take on too many projects and feel overly responsible.
3. I need to let other people solve their own problems.
4. I need to put more metrics on my goals and reward myself at milestones.

Shaun Groves just wrote a post earlier today on his themes and how he has seen it impact different areas of his life.  I’m eager to see what comes out of the class I take at work later next month based on this and see how it may impact my personal relationships as well. 

For now, I’m going to read the results, think about them, maybe share them in a blog post and hopefully help someone discover their own strengths, like today.