In Response

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: This post is NOT intended to become an open debate on any political issue . . . only to try and unify us. So, please note now that any negative or debate related comments will kindly be deleted in pursuite of keeping the focus on moving forward with what we have. Thank you!


WOW! What a week, huh?
Barack Obama is the next president . . .
OUR next president!

There are so many feelings about this
among Americans.
So many people I know are excited
and so many are sad and scared . . . feeling small and hopeless.

I want to thank all of the blogs I have read
of people who didn't want a President Obama,
but have graciously said, "So, now we pray and pitch in."
Thank you thank you thank you.
Not because I voted for Obama,
but because that is the heart we must
ALL have if this is going to work.
Thank you for setting that example for all of us.

My friend Dave asked me if I would be blogging about Obama's win.
I told him that I just wanted to say this:

"Regardless of who we voted for, it is up to us to make change in this country.
Nothing will change if we don't change.

If there will be any change in this country,
we must have a strong leader.
And I hope that is what we have.
But, change will ONLY happen
because of US.
We must all knock the dust off our boots and get our hands dirty.
It does not matter how good a leader
a man (or woman) is.
Unless we contribute,
nothing will happen.
And when we don't agree with him,
that is okay,
we are not impotent.
Then, we must find ways to make our voice, views, and needs
heard, seen, realized.

Either way,
the ONLY way this country will see change
(ANY kind of change)
will be if we jump in."

Then I read this article over at Relevant Magazine's website,
and I just had to post it here because she said
everything I wanted to say with such grace and clarity.

Please take a few minutes to read it (I have posted it below).
It is totally worth it.
AND THEN, please, post a
positive, hopeful comment
about what you might like to do this year
to see the change you want to see in our country!

(ME? I am thinking about volunteering as a counselor with our local alternative pregnancy center, which offers women education and support on options. Because I want to see Obama's charge and desire to decrease abortions come to light.)

Thanks everyone!

America Chooses Obama
By Roxanne Wieman

Well, here we are on the other side. A watershed moment. An historic election. And we, the American people, have made our choice.
Barack Obama will be the 44th President of the United States, and the nation’s first black president. And in elections across the country, Democrats won their seats in the Senate. When Obama takes office in January, he will do so with a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress.

“The American people have spoken, and spoken clearly,” McCain told his supporters in Arizona after the results came in.
But what about you?
Those of you who took our RELEVANT poll yesterday favored McCain: 47 percent of you voted for the Arizona Senator and 33 percent of you for Obama. So, are you disappointed? Will you hang your heads today? Do you fear for our nation’s future? I’m not so sure.
So many of us—members of the widely contested “young evangelical voters”—were divided about this election. Not just as a group, but even in our own hearts. I know which candidate I chose, but it wasn’t an easy decision. And, to be honest, I didn’t really care who won. I agreed with both. I disagreed with both.

What I’m wondering now is where do we go from here?
While the electoral vote and popular vote strongly favored Obama, our country is still largely divided. This was a hard-fought, personal and passionate race. There are wounds on both sides. Can Obama and the Democratic congress heal those wounds? Can we help?

Yes and yes.
Obama ran as a unifier. He condemned our party divisions and championed cooperation across party lines. Many of the Democrats who won seats in the Senate ran with similar platforms. If Obama and the Congress majority maintain that position and “reach across the aisle” in the years to come, that will certainly go a long way in healing our wounds and unifying our country. Karl Rove has already expressed his own wish that the Republicans would do the same, "I hope we will support [Obama] when we agree with him, persuade him when we think his mind is open, and oppose him when we think he is wrong.

"Whether unity happens in Washington or not, the question still returns to us: what can we do to help? As Francis Schaeffer so famously put it, “How shall we then live?” Now that the election is over and Obama and the Democrats have so clearly won, how shall we then live? I believe that we, the young Christian voters, can uniquely answer this question. I believe, in fact, that this is the very question we are so primed to answer. Because this election and its profound life issues has galvanized us to true action.
Yes, we voted. But it’s more than that. Through this election, we’ve become aware of the major social issues of our day. And now we want to do something about them. We recognize an election will not change everything. We do not rest our hopes for change on a political party or candidate. We vote, we hope, but we don’t stop there. Tomorrow and the next day and the next and in January when Obama takes office, we get up and we continue our sojourn to follow Jesus. We live our votes for life, for justice, for peace, for equality.

We comfort our friend who tells us she’s considering abortion. Then we gently tell her why we believe life in the womb is precious. We help her find alternative options … and we stick by her side all through the pregnancy and birth and after. She is not a statistic or a faceless evil to us.

We love beyond racial, gender and sexual lines. We reject stereotypes. We embrace individuals. We work for reconciliation.

We do not talk about “that side of town,” we live there and work there and mentor there. We are a part of educational reform, and ESL, and rehabilitation.

We recycle. We reduce our imprint. We consciously make our purchases, recognizing the global implications. We strive to “live simply that others may simply live” (Ghandi).

We personally pray for our soldiers in Iraq, for the citizens of Iraq, for our leaders who are making tough decisions that affect millions of lives. We really do pray, and we believe our prayers matter.

We continue to work hard in the jobs God has given us, saving our money and stewarding our resources. We tithe. We donate. We volunteer.

We continually challenge each other to deepen our understanding of whole life ethics and Jesus’ call to follow Him.

I believe this is who we are. I believe this is who you are. I believe we can be the change we’ve voted for—no matter who we voted for.