Today turned out to be a very long day. Thursday came with challenges as well as reasons to celebrate. My dad had some heart trouble last night up in Minnesota. He is doing well after getting a stent put in for a blockage. My phone rang early this morning with that news. Then my daughter went to a meeting at school before the first bell. She returned home as President of National Honor Society. Her family is very proud of her. All of this took place before the start of school. At that point my worry was where else would the day take me. Thank goodness that the rest of Thursday went fairly smooth.

We mentioned that politics is an interest of mine. The next few weeks are a great time for someone who likes that thing. Mid term elections are coming up on us very fast. Both of our major political parties are slinging mud just as fast as they make it. Each side is busily blaming the other for the ills of our country. What is ironic is the lack of wanting to cure any of them since it is an election year. No wonder our elected officials are watching their approval numbers fall to historic lows. It's just my opinion but it looks like they are willing to let the country crash and burn so they can point fingers at one another.

This is no way to run a country. I don't remember if I mentioned one of my theories about the low level of leadership on the blog or not. Much of my historical reading concerns people such as our founding fathers or Abraham Lincoln. These people were fascinating individuals in terms of their lives and their leadership. It slowly dawned on me that these men are nothing like our politicians of the day. Not all of them were faithful Christians but they did have a core of religious belief that formed their character. Many of them were self educated even beyond what schools teach today. The problem is not our government but the character of people now involved. We still have the most remarkable form of governing on planet Earth. The real problem is not an it but an us.

Our generation is continuing the trend of wanting the good life handed over without a struggle. Our approach to elections is beyond sad. Too many people just pull levers for a single party with no regard to the character of those in the running. You should know that I do not hold to the idea that God is cheering for one party over the other. I know that my personal beliefs lead me to favor one of the groups. But this does not mean my vote is limited to just a single set of levers. I may not agree with our President on more than a few issues but my prayers are still for him in a positive way. Our country developed with the intention that the people would be well informed in order to make choices. We are the ones who do the voting. We also have to be sure we are getting the best candidates possible.

Our most sacred national document still begins "We the people." That statement includes Christians along with every other type group under the sun. We do have the right to stand on our beliefs within the political realm. One of my longings is that we could regain civil discourse as we go about this work. I know that the odds are very much stacked against it. Shouting sells today in the media. Maybe we will someday be so fed up with how things are done that we demand a change. After all, a little revolution every so often is good for the soul.

Bro. Trey