It’s How You Play the Game!

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill …

“It will make or break a company … a church … a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attituded we will embrace for that day.   We cannot change our past … we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable …

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.  I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.  And so it is with you … we are in charge of our attitudes.”

– Chuck Swindoll (via the book Moments by Mike Van Hoozer)

Seeking out experienced, inexpensive developer of WordPress websites (not blogs) for a local right-of-center organization.   Drop me a line.

President Obama has recommended a new attempt at “Pay As You Go” policy making that, at first blush, suggests greater fiscal restraint.  The basic concept is that any proposal for new spending, must also be tied to proposals to pay for them, presumably through new taxes or cuts elsewhere in the budget.

Unfortunately, it has a decided leftward bent that will tie Congress’ hands in the worst way. For example,

• If we need to increase military spending or spending on NASA (which we do), then we have to cut elsewhere.  Obama knows the most expensive part of the budget is social programs that will spark a backlash against Republicans even if national security requires new spending.
• Any tax cut would require a corresponding tax increase - essentially, tax cuts would be dead as a way of returning taxpayer money to taxpayers, stimulating the economy, or limiting the size of government.  The proposal assumes incorrectly that certain tax cuts a) won’t pay for themselves and b) may simply be the right thing to do for American even if it does reduce revenue (Can you say death tax?)
• Exempts some social program expenses - thus enabling continued growth in programs without the same checks & balances placed on other expenditures.
• Tax Increases - Why doesn’t it include a provision that any tax  increase must be matched with an equivalent tax cut?
• Discretionary Spending - According to one article, the rules would not apply to “discretionary spending” which accounts for 40% of the annual budget and is the taxpayer money that Congress decides how to spend year-to-year.

Did anyone notice this plan is being floated after Obama (and George Bush) spent trillions on bogus economic recovery plans, stimulus bills, and expansion of social programs that eat up a large part of the budget?

Of course, we could pass an iron-clad Constitutional Amendment requiring a balanced budget with exceptions for times of war.

For an early story from CNN

Another story from Reuters

Column from the Washington Times

Tags: budget, obama, taxes

I’m about half way through CJ Mahaney’s “Living the Cross Centered Life” and wanted to share a few excerpts that are relevant for those struggling with anxiety or depression.

But I do know that in our time of deepest affliction, non of us find comfort by endlessly focusing on that suffering.  There’s an element of myster in all our suffering, and in this life we can’t fully understand it, yet we face a subtle temptation to relive and review our suffering.  That’s an exercise that will never bring rest and release.  What will bring rest and release is spending more time meditating on the cross and the God of the cross.

… It’s a fallen world, and therefore we will all suffer. So we must prepare, because the ideal time to be educated about suffering is never in the midst of it.  We need to be trained prior to suffering, so that we may be fully sustained in suffering.

This speaks not only to the Cross, but in a way it also speaks to cognitive behavior therapy which focuses on changing what we think in order to change what we feel.

If we continually ruminate on the negative, then that’s what we’ll feel.  If we discipline ourselves - and it takes work - to change how we think about the world and the circumstances around us then we can change how we feel.  Often this begins as Mahaney suggests by putting the focus on something greater than ourselves which isn’t unlike putting one’s priorities in order.

Yes, I’m on a CJ Mahaney kick while I’m reading his book Living the Cross Centered Life.  It’s a great book, but it can be tough for some people.  It really puts a laser-like focus on reminding us of our sinfulness and need for redemption.

The book may seem harsh in its judgments of our sinfulness, yet the author wants to help readers establish a rock-solid foundation from which to build upon.

Think in basketball terms:  Often a coach begins the season by breaking down the players, exposing all their flaws, and humbling them so that through the season he can begin to build them up again and do so based on a proper foundation.

So here is an extended passage from Chapter Three.

In the same month that The Passion of the Christ was release in movie theaters, Newsweek magazine filled its front cover with a close-up of actor Jim Caviezel as the bloodied and battered Christ, plus this blaring headline: “Who Really Killed Jesus?”

Isaiah gives us the answer.

God did. God the Father was ultimately responsible for the death of His son.  God is telling us, “I purposely determined to crush My son with My wraith - for your sins, as your substitute.”

Why?

“Because I love you.”

When you’re tempted to doubt God’s love for you, stand before the cross and look at the wounded, dying, disfigured Savior, and realize why He is there.  I believe His Father would whisper to us, “Isn’t that sufficient? I haven’t spared My own Son; I deformed and disfigured and crushed Him - for you.  What more could I do to persuade you that I love you?”

That’s how far God’s love goes.

And that’s what it all means.

Listen to Sinclair Ferguson’s words on the staggering implications of the crucifixion:

“When we think of Christ’s dying on the cross we are show the lengths to which God’s love goes in order to win us back to Himself.  We would almost think that God loved us more than He loves His son.  We cannot measure His love by any other standard.  He is saying to us, “I love you this much.”

“The cross is the heart of the gospel; it makes the gospel good news.  Christ died for us; He has stood in our place before God’s judgment seat; He has borne our sins.  God has done something on the cross which we could never do for ourselves.  But God does something to us as well as for us through the cross.  He persuades us that He loves us.

Do you remember Bill Crystal in City Slickers and Curly’s secret of life?

Curly: “One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don’t mean shit.”

Mitch: “That’s great, but what’s the one thing?”

Curly: “That’s what you’ve got to figure out.”

I was reminded of that scene this evening while reading the Introduction to C.J. Mahaney’s Living the Cross Centered Life.  Here is a little snippet for you to think about:

Each of our lives is centered on something.

What’s at the center of yours?

Think about it for a moment.  What’s really the main thing in your life?  Only one thing can truly be first in priority; so what’s at the top of your list, second to none?

Or let me put it this way:  What are you most passionate about?  What do you love to talk about?  What do you think about most when your mind is free?

Or try this:  What is it that defines you?  Is it your career?  A relationship?  Maybe it’s your family, or your ministry …

Maybe your life’s passion is not so much a single focus as a constantly shifty gaze …

New things will always come along.  Many will be useless, some will be good, a few will be better - but what’s the one thing that’s really best, according to God?

I suspect there is a vast increase in the number of people who suffer with some form of anxiety and depression, myself included.  So from time to time I’ll be commenting on my own struggles as well as my discoveries in tackling them.

I’m now reading When Panic Attacks by David Burns and stumbled onto a chapter today about a method of coping called the “Double-Standard Technique.”  This technique tackles our tendencies to hold ourselves up to a higher standard than others, often resulting in beating ourselves needlessly.

A few lines from the chapter

Many of us operate on a double standard.  When we’re feeling upset, we criticize ourselves relentlessly and rip ourselves to shreds.  But if we wer talking to a dear friend with the exact same problem, we’d be fare kinder and more objective …

Here’s how it works.  When you’re anxious or depressed, your mind will usually be flooded with negative thoughts about yourself and your life. You may tell yourself that you’re no good, that you’ve screwed everything up, and that things will never change.  Ask yourself, “How would I talk to a dear friend who had a similar problem?  Would I say such harsh things to him or her?

You may decided that you wouldn’t talk to a friend like that because it would be cruel and because those thoughts aren’t realistic in the first place.  If so, ask yourself what you would you say to your friend.  Then ask yourself if you’d be willing to talk to yourself in the same compassionate way.”

No doubt that political junkies have heard about the music CD that Republican operative Chip Saltsman sent to Republican National Committee members.  Apparently the CD included a variety of songs, parodies, and satires including one with the inflamatory title “Barack the Magic Negro.”

Naturally, many have jumped Saltsman claiming the song is racist and insinuating.  I haven’t heard the song, I haven’t spoken with the persons who wrote and recorded it, nor am I familiar with its history.  Therefore, aside from an inflamatory title I have no basis upon which to judge the song itself and neither should others until they have done real homework.

Saltsman is another matter. I know practically nothing about the man, his beliefs or attitudes so I can’t say whether he is or isn’t a racist.  Apparently he is something of a political insider and as such I assume he is considered politically savvy.  However, any claim to political savvy went out the window when he mailed this CD to others.  The song may or may not be racist, but the act of sending copies to others is incredibly STUPID and shows either a 1) momentary lapse of judgment, 2) failure to review what he was sending others, and/or 3) an incredible lack of political and PR savvy by sending it in full knowledge of its contents.

Should this be the end of Saltsman’s political career? I don’t know.  If it is the end of his political career, then it should be due to the incredible lack of judgment and not knee-jerk reactions to a song title that is inflamatory to say the least.

Source: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/rnc-candidate-distributes-controversial-obama-song-2008-12-26.html