Donkeys, Elephants, and God

Oh, how I get so tired of the political arena. I’ve had too many experiences of conversations gone bad when we all get a little excited about our own point of view and don’t actually try to listen to the other person’s beliefs. It just makes me scared to start any discussion on the topic.

The issue of faith and politics has catapulted the last couple of weeks as the Saddleback Church interviewed both candidates, as Obama selected a pro-choice Catholic as his running mate, and as we are right in between the two conventions.

We also have politicians starting to speak as if they are theologians, the US bishops responding (right on their front page, “above the fold”!) along with a whole slew of other bishops, and Pelosi even trying to counter-argue with the bishops (here’s a good review of her comments and an interpretation of them)

Obviously this abortion issue is a big one, and one that is not going to be solved easily or quickly. Although I don’t always agree with what Doug Kmiec has to say, he makes some good arguments in this article. I wish more Democrats would stand up for this point. What an interesting time it would be if that happened!

So, with all the politics and hoopla going on, what can we do to really make an informed decision? Here’s my 4 step plan:

1. Read the Faithful Citizenship document from the bishops.
2. Read McCain’s stance on the issues. From the source…not from any “news” outlet!
3. Read Obama’s stance on the issues. Again, from the source.
4. Re-read the Faithful Citizenship document, with this new info in mind.

And, during all of that, PRAY for God to guide your understand, and to truly form yourself to His Will.

Anyone want to join me in this? We have 2 months to get through all this reading!

The Maze, Defined

Hello world,

After several months of thinking about this and brainstorming ideas, I’m finally writing my first blog post.

I don’t really think of myself as a writer (I am an accountant after all…well, for 8 more days…), but I’ve started writing more and more with the Masters in Theological Studies that I’m working on. Plus, I read all these other blogs and listen to podcasts, and I have started feeling like I need an outlet to share what I learn with other people. Then I was finally convinced to give this a shot when I had 2 people in one week tell me I should write a book! (Side note: seriously?? A whole book?? You people are crazy.)

So, when I was trying to come up with a name for this blog, I spent quite a bit of time reflecting on my life and what my approach to life has been. I realized that my life has been a series of turning corners, or making changes… the family moves as I was growing up, going to college, several job changes, getting married, deciding to go into ministry, and many others. At each corner, I never completely knew what I was going to find around the turn.

Sometimes the turn would lead me down a long, successful path, other times the turn led to a dead end. Occasionally, I would think about making a turn and decide to continue going straight ahead, and other times I would hope for a turn to appear yet it would never show up. Sometimes I wasn’t able to control the corner I had to turn – the family moves, being laid off from a job; however, usually I was making the decision about turning left or turning right. I would do research, consult with family and friends, think about it and weigh the options before deciding.

And always, always, there was a LOT of praying involved.

All of this process, both the praying AND the research and consultation, was rooted in my faith in God. I always know that He has a plan for me, but I’m the one on the journey trying to live out that plan the best I can. I’m the one taking the step around the corner to see what happens, seeing if that step I take falls on firm ground or unstable ground.

And God is my flashlight, the God that I know through my Catholic faith. Sometimes He is immediately warning me about a dead end around a turn, sometimes illuminating a turn or a path that I didn’t know existed, and sometimes simply telling me to take a few more steps forward to something that will help me see better around the corner.

Is God your flashlight as well? What are the batteries – people, research, experience – that power your flashlight as you are trying to turn a corner in your life? How do you let God speak to you and show you the light that you need to make decisions?

Thanks for reading. I’ll try to update this often, so I hope you check back! Some days I may reflect on something, other days I may just post some links to interesting articles/blogs/podcasts that I come across. Hope you enjoy!