evangelical campaigning

All this last minute campaigning is getting to me. It is the ugly kind with attack ads and robo-calls. When my phone rings, I think if this is another campaign call I will scream. Someone ( or usually just a recording) goes on about their candidate. If it is a real person they end with the same question, " Can we count on your support?". The first (and only) question and chance for interaction in this conversation. Usually I have hung up by then.
I think we can learn a few lessons about how to express our faith....from politics.
1. cold calls don't work. pretty much stop handing out tracts and tell the bullhorn guy to shut up. People might care what you have to say if you just have a real conversation, not an agenda. Opinions, votes, ideals and even souls are changed in friendships and relationships NOT random phonecalls or signs in your front yard ( same goes for bumber stickers...)
2. getting nasty only turns people off. Nothing turns me off to a candidate more than a nasty campaign or attack ads. Same is true for judgemental Christians. We are all hypocrites....so I am not talking about that...but we should be expressing love not looking for faults.
3. not respecting the opposition. I have a few friends that I try REALLY hard to avoid politics with. Mainly becuase they can't seem to have a conversation without implying anyone who doesn't agree with their party lines or specific issue is an idiot. Even when I agree with this person I still try to avoid the topic. Others make statements like you can't be a Christian and a democrat ( or republican depending on who you ask). When conversations about politics (and religion) gets ugly it is because we act like anyone who doesn't think like us is wrong and ignorant. You don't have to agree with someone to treat them with respect and listen to what they have to say.
4. passion. This is a good thing. Alot of people are really passionate about their party right now. They want to talk about it ( even if it leads to some heated discussion). They want to convince you how great their guy ( or gal) is.......and lots of people are at least trying to make informed decisions ( although it is hard with all the nonsense out there). I get at least a half dozen phone calls a night and piles of junk mail about it. It litters the news and commercials. It sneaks it's way into most conversation. Why doesn't our faith infilitrate our lives in this capacity??

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pace yourself

Tonight I went running with a friend ten years my junior. I asked her how far she was running and when she said only about 1.5 or 2 miles, I teased her that I could go at least twice that far. And to just let me know when she needed to stop. I have been running pretty regularly for the last few weeks. It isn’t long but keep increasing my time and distance. I’ve stopped getting blisters. I don’t suck wind after five minutes anymore and I was feeling pretty good about myself. Thinking I might even be able to out run this girl who was so much younger and obviously in more shape than me. As we started to jog I told her that I run pretty slow. Like my husband used to walk beside me while I ran, slow. And she slowed her gait a little bit for me but it was still faster than I usually go. I was a little embarrassed and was not going to ask her to slow down again. So I just ran at her pace. I stayed close. And was fading fast. A little over a mile in I was ready to quit. Again, pride, which isn...

pursue something else.

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my first dance

My wedding day is a little bit of a blur. And it was a great day. But so many people and so much going on and so many moments that it is hard to remember them all clearly without the help of photographs. But I totally remember my first dance as a bride. And it wasn’t with my husband. Or even my father, or brother. I had quickly kicked off my heels and hid them underneath a table. Said my hellos and hugs and smiled until my face hurt. Someone ushered us through the buffet line and I piled my plate with hors d'oeuvres and headed to a table. But before I could pop a single shrimp in my mouth someone grabbed me firmly by the arm and pulled me onto the dance floor and into a jitterbug before I could protest. It was my husband’s granddaddy. A man I had only met about a few times and heard say about as many words. So I was a little surprised when he spun me around the dance floor. Eventually that night I danced with my husband. And my dad. And probably even my brother. But my fir...

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