BOOK REVIEW

Thursday, April 29, 2010

WHAT SEX IS A REPUBLICAN? 
By Terri McCormick, M.A.

OVERVIEW: What Sex Is a Republican ? takes a look at the political game from behind the curtain with one intention: to call on each of us to serve in our local, state and federal governments. The principles of republican government have been lost on the money changers in our state and national capitols. There is only one way to change that. We the people must take responsibility for what our government has become while we weren't looking. As he left Liberty Hall upon signing the Constitution of the Untied States, Benjamin Franklin was asked, "What kind of government did you give us?" Franklin replied, "A republic, if you can keep it!"


AUTHOR: Terri McCormick, is a former legislator and congressional candidate who is a woman. According to her friends and foes alike, "Terri has been battle tested in state and federal politics." An advocate for political and government reform and change, former Representative Terri McCormick has proven time and again that "ideas" trump "career politicians" and their trysts and turns. She is a public and leadership innovator. She is the President of the McCormick Dawson CPG, Ltd, a marketing and public relations firm. Terri McCormick was a state Representative to the Wisconsin Legislature from 2000 to 2006. She is a Wisconsin Truman Scholar.

MY REVIEW:  The sub-title of the book is: Stories from the Front Lines in American Politics and How You Can Change the Way Things Are. The thrust of this book is that it is a call to service for each of us. If I was trying to sum it up in a crude way, I would say, "Politically things are in a mess and it is not going to get any better until we do something about it." Immediately a question comes to mind, "What can we do?" Terri McCormick points out what needs to be done and how to do it as plainly as she can. You may not agree with what she says--or you may, but you will need to read the book to form your own opinion.

I agree with most of what she says. And I strongly agree with what she says is the three major changes that must take place. First, there should be term limits for all legislators to stop the pursuit of power for power's sake. Second, we the people need to study and engage in our government through the U.S. Constitution. Third, we must ensure that the checks and balances of ur three branches of government are working, as the U.S. Constitution intended.

Radio personality, Jeanne Anthony said: "This book should be required reading for every government and politics class in the country." I'm not in a position to know what should be required reading for these classes but I do recommend the book and I know it certainly wouldn't hurt them to read it and it would do them a lot of good.

AN OASIS IN THE DESERT

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

I hope she is right. I want her to be.

Our friend said, "Your home is an oasis. We seem to always be visiting after a death in our family or problems back home."

This time they were coming from Texas where they had gone for a memorial service for a dear relative. They stopped off in Arizona on their way back to California.


So if you have come to my blog and wondered where I was or if you have missed me visiting your blog, it is because we have been busy enjoying the company of dear friends.

I don't see our home as an oasis but we do try to offer genuine hospitality: (1) We drop our routine and try to create a schedule more encouraging to our friends. (2) We alter our eating schedule, style and choice of food. (3)We don't watch our favorite sports, news, etc. on T.V. unless everybody wants to watch. And we don't force our wonderful family DVD's on them. Although we would dearly love to. The bottom line is we try not to do anything to annoy the daylights out of them and make them never want to come back  but to provide a place of refuge and rest where they know they are loved and cared for.

Charlotte and I find joy in being able to open our home to our friends and loved ones. It gets us out of a rut and onto the open road of new adventures. But it does take us away from the daily and the usual---which is good. But that's where we have been. We hope you missed us. We missed you!

WORDS THAT OUR SOUL HUNGERS FOR

Saturday, April 24, 2010

(One of my favorite books of all time is Ken Gire's Windows of the Soul. The following words are from that book.)

"Man shall not live by bread alone," Jesus said, "but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." If this is true, our very lives depend on those words. They are, in fact, the daily bread of our soul. But what are those words? And where do we find them?

Through the prophet Isaiah, God provides a clue. "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Many have understood this passage as a reference to the Scriptures, thinking if a verse is quoted in conversation, or if a pamphlet of verses is put in a sack lunch for the homeless, or if a Bible is put into the hands of a skeptic, fruit will come from it. Often, though, our experience proves otherwise. The passage, in fact suggest otherwise.

Look deeper into the analogy. It compares the word that goes out of God's mouth to the rain and snow that go out of the sky. When rain or snow falls to the ground, it trickles into streams, pools into lakes, filters into subterranean wells. Dip your hand in a lake, and there is rain channeled from the mountains and snow melted from its peaks. Dig a well, and there also is something of the rain. Peer into the stem of a honeysuckle, and there a nectared tear wept by rain. Crush it and out comes a drop of what was once rain. Bite into a peach, and there is something of the winter snow mingled with spring showers in its succulent juices. Even in the desert, where there seems no trace of moisture, you can cut open a saguaro cactus and find something of the rain reservoired inside.

Like rain and snow, the word of God permeates the earth. To say God's word can be found only in certain places, like the Bible, for example, is to say, in effect, that rain water can be found only in lakes where it is most visible. But everywhere we look there are traces of His word. In history. In the circumstances of our lives. In every nook of humanity and every crannied flower of creation.

THE PRACTICE OF WEARING SKIN

Thursday, April 22, 2010

(If you come to my blog on a regular basis, you know that I like Barbara Brown Taylor's book, An Altar in the World. I am quoting from it again today.)

Deep suffering makes theologians of us all. The questions people ask about God in Sunday school rarely compare with the questions we ask while we are in the hospital. This goes for those stuck in the waiting room as well as those in actual beds. ...To spend one night in real pain is to discover depths of reality that are roped off while everything is going fine. Why me? Why now? Why this?

These are natural questions to ask when you are in pain, but they are just as relevant when you are in pleasure. Who deserves the way a warm bath feels on a cold night after a hard day's work? Who has earned the smell of a loved one, embracing you on your first night back home? To hold a sleeping child in your arms can teach you more about the meaning of life than any ten books on the subject. To lie in the yard at night looking up at the stars can grant you entrance into divine mysteries that elude you inside the house.

The daily practice of incarnation--of being in the body with full confidence that God speaks the language of flesh--is to discover a pedagogy that is as old as the gospels. Why else did Jesus spend his last night on earth teaching his disciples to wash feet and share supper? With all the conceptual truths in the universe at his disposal, he did not give them something to think about together when he was gone. Instead, he gave them concrete things to do--specific ways of being together in their bodies--that would go on teaching them what they needed to know when he was no longer around to teach them himself.

COMFORTING OTHERS

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

I love the following passage from 2 Corinthians 1:4

He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. 

Isn't that good?

FIXING "STUFF"

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

It looks like this is my week for getting "stuff" fixed. Some weeks are like that.

BIG SCREEN TELEVISION

We've had the thing for almost seven years. I'm amazed it worked so long, so well. We bought it just before we retired. Unlike most preachers I watch a lot of television. Or maybe I should say, unlike most preachers I tell the truth about how much television I watch. So we bought a big screen television. It's wonderful for watching sports. Hey, it's wonderful for watching just about anything you want to watch.


Yesterday we had to have a fan replaced. The fan only cost 39.00 but they charged $240.00 to put it in. Oh well, it's worth it. I've got a lot of watchin' to do.

MY TEETH

Went to the dentist today to have my teeth cleaned. I should have suspected something when the hygienist kept complimenting my teeth and gums. The dentist came in and told me I needed to replace a small piece of gold on one of my crowns. Oh well, it's worth it. I have a lot of chewing to do. Except ice cream is what I like most and that doesn't require much chewing.

When I set out to write this post I thought I had several things to write about. But it's only two. I can hardly believe it. It sure seemed like more when I first thought about it. Oh well, it's only Tuesday. Who knows what Wednesday will bring.