Got down around freezing this morning, Carla’s flowers are going to start going dormant.  Early morning fog burned off to a bright sunlit day with plenty of blue sky overhead.

Carla was scheduled to work at 0700-1100 today, however, they asked her to do a full day’s work since they are back logged.  She wasn’t real excited about working on a day like this but agreed to do so.

I hate to see her putting in that many hours.  She will be extra tired tonight.  Fortunately she is scheduled for next couple of days off.

Interesting to note her new District Manager says this store is the jewel of those under him.  Don’t know if he is just shining them on and tells all the stores the same thing, or if he is serious.  The old District Manager gave the manager nothing but grief, so it is a refreshing statement from the new one.

Psalm 40:9-13 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.

¹⁰ I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.

¹¹ Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.

¹² For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.

¹³ Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me.

My heart is heavy this morning.  It seems wherever we turn these days there is hatred and a desire to destroy.

As the Psalmist felt the burden of preaching God’s Word and the resultant enemy attacks, so too do we who have proclaimed Christ as Savior.

We feel so many people have run roughshod over God’s Word; that they have substituted their ideals with anger and resentment to all that disagree with them. 

They are no longer willing to listen, it is either their way or they become vindictive -  they no longer consider their soul’s peril as they deliberately reject God’s Word and His Grace by their comments and actions.

They proclaim their own rights are more important than those that disagree with them.  They choose to attack and humiliate, they choose to mock and rather than submit to God they have chosen to actually declare their opposition openly.  They pass laws where their own agenda of sinful behavior is the norm and anyone that disagrees with that are to be destroy in any way they can.

What is going on in America right now is just a small part of the rebellion satan has set into play.  He is rubbing his hands with glee and will continue recruiting people to his bidding.

The thing that bothers me is that many of these people have no idea what is going on in their spiritual lives – and they don’t care.

Their feelings are genuine, but they haven’t been prepared to accept what the rules are and what is necessary for a country to operate that has been founded on law, not how someone ‘feels.’

The rules in a Presidential election are clear.  All candidates know what the rules are and ran their campaigns accordingly.

To me, it is like a fishing competition.  There are two kinds of fish, yellow ones and white ones.  The only one that counts towards winning the competition is the yellow fish.

While all competitors will capture both fish, they concentrate their energy on catching the yellow ones; because everyone knows a head of time they are the more valuable and they can’t win without having the majority of them.

In the end all competitors come in with their catch.  One has clearly won the competition because he has the most yellow fish, the other leading competitor says, wait a minute, I caught the most fish altogether.

While I didn’t catch the most yellow fish, I still caught the most fish – therefore the rule is unfair and I should win.

NO ONE would buy that argument.

Yes, I know citizens are not fish and the issues are more important and complicated than that, but the comparison is still valid.

If you have rules for a competition and you lost based on the rules you have no right to get upset because the other person won.

If you wish the rules to be changed you get together with like-minded people and state your case.  If the majority agree (as laid down in the by-laws of the organization, - in our case the Constitution) then the rules are changed.

If we disagree there are proper paths to follow, they are clearly laid out in our Constitution and laws.

We have elections, we support those who share at least some of our views and we vote accordingly.  It has worked for well over 200 years in this country and by following the rules it will still work.

As a country we have been successful in being a world leader.  Our elected officials are not perfect, some are downright dishonest and scoundrels, but overall we have a nation that has allowed people to state their case, live their lives and make something of themselves.

We are still a country that most people in the world look up to and how we handle this latest crisis is going to tell the world that either they can count on the American people to support their country or we are so divided that those that want to topple us can do so with a minimum of effort.

While I feel a heavy heart, I am sure that God is looking at us and, even though He knows all, He is looking at us with a heavy heart.  Far too many of His people are lining up against each other and His Church suffers.

Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord: let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.

May that be our prayer for our nation.

Later, Art (-: