Repentance

There once was a preacher whose home needed repainting... BADLY!! The siding was worn and ragged under the chipped and pealing paint. There were places the paint had soaked in and stained the wood, but it only served to make the house look even more neglected. The parishioners were becoming ashamed and embarrassed of how sad the manse looked!

Eventually, the church congregation convinced their beloved shepherd to repaint his home. He did the figuring for how much paint he needed.. and that seemed like just much too much, way more than would be needed! Surely that couldn't be right. So he bought what he thought would be needed and rented a sprayer- he thought that would use less paint.

Which it did.. somewhat. But he found that it wasn't enough. He was half way around the house, and more than half way through the paint. So he added some thinner to stretch the paint he had purchased.

At 3/4 through the project, he found that again he was going to be short and added more thinner.

This happened a couple more times as the day progressed. But he was finally done by the time the sun was well down.

The next morning, he woke late. He had been up far into the night painting and cleaning the sprayer out. But looking at the house brought an unpleasant surprise- the paint he had applied at the beginning of the day did not match the pain he had applied at dusk!!

A voice boomed out of heaven.

"REPAINT, REPAINT AND THIN NO MORE!"

Wow.

So Tuesday happened.

And then Wednesday. And Thursday, and Friday, and Saturday! And still today.

Sheesh! So much misbehavior on both sides!!!

On the one side, I see calls for the assassination of Donald and the raping of his wife. Supporters burning racial effigies. On the other, I see burning of businesses, vandalism of both public and private property, assaults and beatings, and obstructing traffic on major highways.

The gloating on one side, the pity-party on the other. What happened to good sportsmanship? What happened to common courtesy and civility? What happened to obeying the law??

I've been told this acting out (at least on the anti-Trump side) is neither childish nor over-reacting. I beg do differ! I don't care which side you're on, what you do, who you do it to, or why. But this has got to stop. It's embarrassing! Adults consider the consequences of their behavior. Adults recognize that there are options. Adults obey the law and find legal ways to make their voices heard.

This is none of the above. This is exactly the opposite of adult and mature- this is indeed childishness!

To both sides, to everyone who is acting up (hopefully, none of my readers?), I say:

Midweek Madness

It's Tuesday night/Wednesday morning as I write this.

This week has been pretty intense, and it's only half over! A huge decision has been made. It wasn't a landslide, by any means, but it was a win for one side, and a loss for the other.

Most of you know where I stand. That said, I know how the other side feels- that's how I felt the last two elections. I understand the "We're screwed" sentiment (pardon the language for my more sensitive readers), I really do. Four years ago, when it was announced that Obama would get another four years in the White House, I was just sick. I couldn't believe that the American people had chosen again to elect someone whose agenda clearly did not include the rule of law, respect for law enforcement, compassion for our fellow Americans, peace within our borders, and fostering respect from other nations. At least that's how I saw it.

So to those of you on "the other side of the aisle"- I do get it.

That said, when I saw that my candidate had the lead this evening, as totals from each state began to come in, I was excited!.. worried, because this is a big country, and there were still a lot of electoral votes to be tallied. As the night progressed, and my candidate retained the lead I became more hopeful. Just after midnight, as I checked the reports again, and saw that my candidate had 276 electoral votes, that he had won, my heart skipped a beat! So many things will be ok!

Results as of 5am, MST

This is not me gloating. This is me expressing relief!
Relief that the unborn will be protected.
Relief that our borders will be secure against trespassers.
Relief that law-abiding citizens will still be able to defend themselves.
Relief that our allies will be supported in our mutual pursuits of freedom, liberty, and prosperity.
Relief that those who have served- past, present, and future- to keep our nation safe, will be taken care of.

With a gracious and appreciative speech like this, I think we will be ok. *sigh

Boundaries

Wilson never crossed the fence. Tim knew the boundary would be respected.

"Good fences make good neighbors."

Most cliches become such for a reason- they're true! Whether it's not counting chickens before they're hatched (because baby chicks have a notoriously high mortality rate), or a warning about free lunches (because the cost has to come from somewhere), these sayings are true.

So what is the truth behind the fences/neighbors saying?

Our society works because we all know how things work. We know who is in charge of what, and when someone messes with something that isn't theirs to mess with, we have police and judges, referees and umpires, even bouncers to sort it all out and re-establish order.

Sometimes that order is very clear- laws, school rules, workplace policy books. But sometimes the "rules" aren't so clear, like in interpersonal relationships. We are all individuals, each with our own unique talents and tolerances. When those tolerances are reached by someone close to us, when a loved one pushes you past what you can handle, what happens?

"I've had it! I can't take this anymore!"
"I'm not ok with how you treated me."
"I am moving out."
"I need you to move out."
"I want a divorce."

The reality is that not honoring someone else's boundary is a fundamental disrespect. When you violate a boundary someone else has set- no matter the boundary, no matter their reason- you are telling them in no uncertain terms that you think their tolerances don't matter. They still have to tolerate you, no matter what. If you have damaged their belongings, offended their feelings, or hurt their body, you've violated a boundary.

And you're in the wrong.

Respecting boundaries isn't being a wuss. Respecting boundaries isn't a sign of weakness or apathy.
It's a sign of....


wait for it...


Respect. It's kindness. It's courtesy and honor. It's civility. It's maturity.

Good fences make good neighbors. Clear boundaries that are upheld create healthy relationships.