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| Over the past couple of months our Grand Prix has been letting us know it is on it's way out. One of the struts, a wheel assembly (supposedly), the intake manifold gasket, and several other things all needed to be replaced soon. The mechanic we took it to told us it wasn't worth putting that much money into the car. Then a couple weeks ago as I was driving down the highway, the car started losing power.
Now, here's the cool part  I was just a couple miles from the hardware store owned by one of the elders at our church and was able to get the car there. He looked at it, I called Steve's dad and he came to look as well. While I was waiting in the store, my sister-in-law asked one of the employees if her car was still for sale and she said "Yeah, I'll sell it to ya." Long story short, here's our new car :D It's a 1995 Buick Park Avenue (same make and model but 10 years newer than my first car). They replaced the engine recently so there is 29,000 miles on the engine - wahoo!
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| This is a message from John Piper that was posted by Leah Molina on her Facebook - thank you, Leah! I think this is the best message on voting that I have heard yet. It reinforced my belief that Christians have a responsibility to vote yet reminded me that no matter the outcome of the election, it is in God's hands and it is not life or death as we make it out to be! Our focus should be on the things of God and not on this world. That said, we still live in this world and should not be sitting on our hands until the return of Christ (or until He calls us home). Ok, that's my two cents. Here's the $100 message :D
et Christians Vote As Though They Were Not Voting
October 22, 2008
By John Piper
Voting is like marrying and crying and laughing and buying. We should
do it, but only as if we were not doing it. That's because "the present
form of this world is passing away" and, in God's eyes, "the time has
grown very short." Here's the way Paul puts it:
The appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who
have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though
they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not
rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who
deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the
present form of this world is passing away. (1 Corinthians 7:29-31)
Let's take these one at a time and compare them to voting.
1. "Let those who have wives live as though they had none."
This doesn't mean move out of the house, don't have sex, and don't call
Honey. Earlier in this chapter Paul says, "The husband should give to
his wife her conjugal rights" (1 Corinthians 7:3). He also says to love
her the way Christ loved the church, leading and providing and
protecting (Ephesians 5:25-30). It means this: Marriage is momentary.
It's over at death, and there is no marriage in the resurrection. Wives
and husbands are second priorities, not first. Christ is first.
Marriage is for making much of him.
It means: If she is exquisitely desirable, beware of desiring her more
than Christ. And if she is deeply disappointing, beware of being hurt
too much. This is temporary—only a brief lifetime. Then comes the
never-disappointing life which is life indeed.
So it is with voting. We should do it. But only as if we were not doing
it. Its outcomes do not give us the greatest joy when they go our way,
and they do not demoralize us when they don't. Political life is for
making much of Christ whether the world falls apart or holds together.
2. "Let those who mourn [do so] as though they were not mourning."
Christians mourn with real, deep, painful mourning, especially over
losses—loss of those we love, loss of health, loss of a dream. These
losses hurt. We cry when we are hurt. But we cry as though not crying.
We mourn knowing we have not lost something so valuable we cannot
rejoice in our mourning. Our losses do not incapacitate us. They do not
blind us to the possibility of a fruitful future serving Christ. The
Lord gives and takes away. But he remains blessed. And we remain
hopeful in our mourning.
So it is with voting. There are losses. We mourn. But not as those who
have no hope. We vote and we lose, or we vote and we win. In either
case, we win or lose as if we were not winning or losing. Our
expectations and frustrations are modest. The best this world can offer
is short and small. The worst it can offer has been predicted in the
book of Revelation. And no vote will hold it back. In the short run,
Christians lose (Revelation 13:7). In the long run, we win (21:4).
3. "Let those who rejoice [do so] as though they were not rejoicing."
Christians rejoice in health (James 5:13) and in sickness (James 1:2).
There are a thousand good and perfect things that come down from God
that call forth the feeling of happiness. Beautiful weather. Good
friends who want to spend time with us. Delicious food and someone to
share it with. A successful plan. A person helped by our efforts.
But none of these good and beautiful things can satisfy our soul. Even
the best cannot replace what we were made for, namely, the full
experience of the risen Christ (John 17:24). Even fellowship with him
here is not the final and best gift. There is more of him to have after
we die (Philippians 1:21-23)—and even more after the resurrection. The
best experiences here are foretastes. The best sights of glory are
through a mirror dimly. The joy that rises from these previews does not
and should not rise to the level of the hope of glory. These pleasures
will one day be as though they were not. So we rejoice remembering this
joy is a foretaste, and will be replaced by a vastly better joy.
So it is with voting. There are joys. The very act of voting is a
joyful statement that we are not under a tyrant. And there may be happy
victories. But the best government we get is a foreshadowing. Peace and
justice are approximated now. They will be perfect when Christ comes.
So our joy is modest. Our triumphs are short-lived—and shot through
with imperfection. So we vote as though not voting.
4. "Let those who buy [do so] as though they had no goods."
Let Christians keep on buying while this age lasts. Christianity is not
withdrawal from business. We are involved, but as though not involved.
Business simply does not have the weight in our hearts that it has for
many. All our getting and all our having in this world is getting and
having things that are not ultimately important. Our car, our house,
our books, our computers, our heirlooms—we possess them with a loose
grip. If they are taken away, we say that in a sense we did not have
them. We are not here to possess. We are here to lay up treasures in
heaven.
This world matters. But it is not ultimate. It is the stage for living
in such a way to show that this world is not our God, but that Christ
is our God. It is the stage for using the world to show that Christ is
more precious than the world.
So it is with voting. We do not withdraw. We are involved—but as if not
involved. Politics does not have ultimate weight for us. It is one more
stage for acting out the truth that Christ, and not politics, is
supreme.
5. "Let those who deal with the world [do so] as though they had no dealings with it."
Christians should deal with the world. This world is here to be used.
Dealt with. There is no avoiding it. Not to deal with it is to deal
with it that way. Not to weed your garden is to cultivate a weedy
garden. Not to wear a coat in Minnesota is to freeze—to deal with the
cold that way. Not to stop when the light is red is to spend your money
on fines or hospital bills and deal with the world that way. We must
deal with the world.
But as we deal with it, we don't give it our fullest attention. We
don't ascribe to the world the greatest status. There are unseen things
that are vastly more precious than the world. We use the world without
offering it our whole soul. We may work with all our might when dealing
with the world, but the full passions of our heart will be attached to
something higher—Godward purposes. We use the world, but not as an end
in itself. It is a means. We deal with the world in order to make much
of Christ.
So it is with voting. We deal with the system. We deal with the news.
We deal with the candidates. We deal with the issues. But we deal with
it all as if not dealing with it. It does not have our fullest
attention. It is not the great thing in our lives. Christ is. And
Christ will be ruling over his people with perfect supremacy no matter
who is elected and no matter what government stands or falls. So we
vote as though not voting.
By all means vote. But remember: "The world is passing away along with
its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John
2:17).
Voting with you, as though not voting,
Pastor John
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| To begin on a sad note, I'm asking your prayers for the Winn family. A 19-year-old girl that came to our religion class on Thursday nights passed away this past Sunday from complications with epilepsy. Her family does not know the Lord, but the last class she attended was about sin, why we need a Savior, and what Christ did for us. I pray that she chose to believe before God took her, and that He used the class to bring her to Him before she went. Pray that God can use some of us from the class to minister to her family and that He will bring them to Him through this.
On a brighter tone, the 4th of July Pallock get-together was absolutely awesome! It began a little rough with Tim & Vanessa and the boys getting stuck for several hours about 4 hours south of us because the car wouldn't start, but even in that situation God was working. Peter was only a couple hours south of them coming up the same highway from Texas, so he was able to help them get the car going. He even ended up sending them on with his car when theirs died again - what a brother! Steve, Micah, Melissa & I ended up driving down for a late-night trip to pick him up when he couldn't get the car going - what a blast! At least the trip down was - I crashed on the way back up since I'd only had 4 hours of sleep the night before (Steve stood guard at the church's fireworks tent and I just don't sleep well when he isn't there  ). Dad, Tim & Peter drove down to get the car Friday and made it back just in time for a big fireworks show in front of Steve's parents' house. No one got hurt, even if we did have some attack "ladybugs" that went sideways instead of up in the air and the launcher didn't work on one of Annie's mortar shells so it exploded inside the tube in the street (eep!).
Saturday we spent the day playing, eating, and of course a few of us took a trip to the mall. Sister time! (Steve & Micah valiantly tagged along - hehe). The nephews entertained us constantly, from Nathan's enthusiastic "Da...deeeeeee!" to Cody's adorable little "Chees!" (no e, there - hehe). Lots of pictures from Micah (and a few from Mom) to follow - thanks, bro! Mom, Dad, Lydia, Andrew, Tim, Vanessa, Nathan & Seth were able to stay through Sunday so after church we did another big lunch and then hung out and mostly played on the computer in the afternoon. Got to use the big bubble wand that I bought with Nathan outside (sorry, Cody, I forgot til Sunday ). I love little kids!!! So, all in all, the weekend was an absolute blast
And, I must note that I have the most patient and wonderful husband. He's making lunch for me right now but since I was the one who decided where to put all the stuff in the kitchen (and most of you know that means there was no rhyme or reason) he's having to ask me where things are - without a bit of irritation, I might add 
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| ...what an awe-inspiring picture of a small part of God's power! We are experiencing high winds, almost constant lightning, rumbling thunder, and hail. It also makes me think of God's care for us - all this is being viewed from the safety of our cosy living room, with not the slightest danger to us personally. How awesome is our God! | | |
| Steve & I started classes at the end of August at Friends University. Our class on Monday nights has been English Composition so we've been writing either a two-page or four-page paper every week. Haven't felt like composing much else I'll see if I can get an update on the past few months on here sometime
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