supporting our president

Kudos to the Wall Street Journal. They ran this opinion piece on the treatment of President Bush. The author makes some good points. It's a shame the way we treat the man we elected to be our president.

I have no trouble supporting President Bush. I've never understood why people seem to hate him so much--but then I've never been one of those "withdraw the troops now!" people, either. However, I may struggle in my support of President-elect Obama. With that in mind, here are a few tips from Justin Taylor on supporting our president.

No matter who you voted for--or whether you voted at all--it's important to remember that, as President, Barack Obama will have God-given authority to govern us, and that we should view him as a servant of God (Rom. 13:1, 4) to whom we should be subject (Rom. 13:1, 5; 1 Pet. 2:13-14).

• We are to pray for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
• We are to thank God for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
• We are to respect Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7).
• We are to honor Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:17).

I have begun praying for our new president; I encourage you to do so, as well!

yes, we were partisan

I came across this piece in the Washington Post. In it, Deborah Howell, the paper's ombudsman (sadly, I had to look it up) acknowledges that yes, the Post favored Obama.

I understand that everyone has his or her own bias to bring to the table, but this year, the media didn't seem to make any effort to conceal that bias. I'm glad that the Post is admitting its bias . . . even if it is after the fact. Hopefully, the media will attempt to be more neutral the next time around. (A girl can dream, can't she?)

not laughing with the laugh track

I just got Sports Night from Netflix. Sports Night is another one of those shows that Andrew and I used to watch together in the basement--only Mom wouldn't have hated this one so much. I was about two minutes into the pilot when I heard it: laughter. At first, I thought there was something wrong with the dvd; then I realized it was a laugh track. I so rarely watch sitcoms anymore (and really, how many "traditional" sitcoms are left?)--the only comedy I regularly watch is The Office, which doesn't have a laugh track--that I'd almost forgotten laugh tracks existed. Frankly, I find the laugh track annoying. Can you imagine if a movie had a laugh track? I'd much rather have silence than hear people "coaching" me on when to laugh.

the first snow

There's always something magical about the first snow of the season. It was raining when I walked to my car this morning. On my way to work, the rain became snow. As I walked to my classroom, I smiled at the feel of the flakes melting against my face.

One hour later, the wind had begun blowing. Hard. The snow had turned to sleet, and it stung as it whipped into my face. Suddenly, the weather didn't seem so magical anymore. (Especially since I was wearing a light jacket and sandals!)

Now it's windy and cold, but the precipitation has subsided. We've been blessed with amazing weather, even topping 70 degrees a few days ago. But still, I'm not ready for winter.

fireproof

I just learned that Fireproof has made its way to our local theater. The theater is only open Friday through Sunday, so I'm thinking about seeing it on Saturday night. I've heard very good things about this movie . . . I'll let you know what I think after I see it!

a momentary distraction

This afternoon, I stumbled across some news that made me forget about the election for a few minutes. Before I tell you the news, it's confession time: I was addicted to the last cycle of The Bachelorette. I have long mocked those "find your soulmate on TV" shows, but I somehow got sucked into the "who will DeAnna pick?" drama. I watched, speechless, as she eliminated Jeremy, the attorney who I'd picked to go all the way. The next week, I was rooting for Jesse, the snowboarder who she did end up with, simply because I decided she wasn't good enough for the other finalist, Jason.

Jason--who looks like the guy who played Danny on TNBC's Hang Time--will be the next Bachelor. No surprise there, as he was by far the most likeable person on The Bachelorette.

So on to the news I learned today. DeAnna and Jesse, who were supposed to get married in May in a ceremony televised by ABC (of course!), broke up. What a SHOCKER! But it gets even better: she broke up with him at the airport baggage claim!

voting

This morning, I voted in my third presidential election. We are seriously so blessed to live in a nation where we can make our voices heard in the voting booth. I cannot understand why people would choose not to vote. It's such a privilege!

My senior year of high school, I was so jealous when several of my classmates got to vote. We weren't electing the president that year--it was 1998--but that didn't matter to me. What mattered was I was only 17, and I couldn't vote.

My first vote was in the 2000 primaries. I honestly don't remember much about it. Nebraska's primary is in May, so it's too late to have much (if any) affect on the presidential primaries. The only person I actually remember voting for is legendary Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne.

The November 2000 election is a different story. It was cold and icy, and I fishtailed while driving to the Community Room to vote. I slid into a parking space, miraculously stopping before hitting the car parked across from me. And I proudly cast my ballot for George W. Bush. I watched the returns late into the night. When the networks declared Bush the winner, I went to bed. That night, I dreamed that it was a mistake and Gore had really won. The next morning, I woke up to the nightmare that was the Florida recount.

That election ended up going "my" way, as did the 2004 election. I can't shake the feeling that this one won't end up as I'd like it to; however, dear friend Jen reminded me recently that we just have to trust that God is in control. And no matter what happens, I'm so grateful to have a voice!