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Obama, Yomama

Well, all the anniversary/birthday festivities have passed, and I need to try and get back into some sort of blogging flow... The last few months have been pretty sad in terms of blog production here at the ole "Life of Brian" blog.

But, before getting to the main topic, one quick thing to get off my mind.

This is actually for Sarah. Ok, I gotta give Andrew Peterson some well-deserved props. Cathy and I were listening to some tunes on the way up to Saluda this past weekend, including AP's "Deliver Us". Wow - I'd have to give that song about a 99 on a scale of 100, a near-perfect tune. Absolutely incredible. (It almost is enough to make up for "Tools"...ha!) A couple more of those, and he'll be in Chris Rice territory! :D

Ok, on to the main rant.

Just some comments on the upcoming election. It will not be a surprise for most of you when I say that I am supporting McCain/Palin, not Obama/Biden. While I agree that Obama will bring change, I am convinced that much of it will be change in the wrong direction for our country.

Socially, as a Christian, I cannot in good conscience support Obama, who is strongly pro-abortion, pro-homosexual marriage, and likely to appoint a large number of liberals to the courts. Fiscally, I am sure an Obama presidency will result in higher taxes for all Americans, not just the wealthy (who by the way pay more than their fair share of taxes already...the top 1% of Americans pay 40% of the taxes, and the bottom 50% pay only 3%...is that fair?). And regarding foreign policy, I prefer the strong Reaganesque stance of war hero John McCain to Obama's "negotiate with terrorists" plans.

But beyond this, I am concerned over the way the majority of the media has given "the Messiah" a free pass, by neglecting to put a number of issues under the spotlight (Obama's relationship with Acorn, his relationships with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers and anti-American pastor Reverend Wright, etc).

If you have the time, read these two great articles about Obama, one from Focus on the Family's James Dobson, and the other from NewsMax. They basically sum up how I feel about Obama. And oh, this picture speaks volumes:



Senator Obama would be the one NOT holding his hand over his heart during the national anthem...

Having said that, I'm not a huge McCain fan, but he (and Palin) are a far better team to lead our nation, IMHO, than Obama/Biden.

Regardless of the outcome, we must remember that God is in control, and that America's TRUE need is a spiritual renewal, not a political one...

Oh well, rant over. Have a great week!

Happy

Here's wishing Cathy (and myself) a happy 18th anniversary!

And what an absolutely wonderful 18 years it has been -- God is good, indeed.

It seems like yesterday that Cathy and I were dating... I was a young engineer at Michelin, she was working at Staubli in Spartanburg. I would drive up to Spartanburg after work, pick up some Maurice's BBQ, and stop by for a visit at the duplex off Anderson Mill Road where Cathy and the boys lived. She loved me from the moment she met me (ha!).

Of course, there is no such thing as chance -- God was orchestrating things from the beginning, as always.

You see, my late teens and early twenties were years of rebellion for me, against my parents and against God. I was expected to attend church growing up, and as a form of rebellion against my parents, I vowed I would never go again once I left for college. At Virginia Tech, and after graduation, I had nothing to do with church, and nothing to do with God.

That is, until 1989. I had come to realize that the "wild" life just wasn't for me. I wasn't particularly good at it, and it really wasn't a match for me anyhow. What I really wanted was someone to love me as I was, someone to share life with, to start a family with. I realize that's maybe not "normal" for a 23-yr old guy, but I was finally being honest with myself.

For the first I could remember time since high school, I prayed to God. I don't actually remember exactly what I prayed, but I basically asked Him to take away the loneliness, to give me a soul mate. I vowed that if He would hold up His end of the bargain, I would be faithful, til death do us part.

Shortly after this prayer is when I met Cathy, shortly after that we were married, and shortly after that I accepted Christ (thanks to her example). Here we are 18 years later, and I'm happier with my soul mate than I ever thought I could be.

God gave me so much more than I even asked for...doesn't He always?

Happy

Greetings from the world's laziest blogger!

Here's a few reasons why I'm feeling good today:

1. Going out of town this weekend to celebrate my 18th anniversary of marriage to the world's best woman. Where to? The mountains, of course... Cool breeze, pretty leaves, Direct TV (Cathy's happy about that), and a good book (Thunder Run by David Zucchino). Of course, we're taking the Rubinator...

2. We joined First Baptist Simpsonville this past Sunday, and I am excited to see what opportunities God is going to open up there. It is great to be back on "solid ground" in terms of hearing sound doctrine! Also, I was fortunate to be able to play bass with the praise band a couple weeks ago... Fun.

3. Speaking of bass guitar...we have a new family member! It's a 1980 Peavey T-40 bass. In a nutshell, it is an incredible bass for a really low price (thanks, Craiglist!). Check out the raving reviews here. I am self-taught on bass, and picked up some bad fretting habits, so I plan on re-learning some technique. (Cathy, is there room for a bass and amp in the car for this weekend???) And yes, I will be selling my old electric bass, a cheapo Fender Squire I've had for about 10 years. Not gonna mourn that one!

4. The weather is just absolutely beautiful the last couple weeks. Love it, love it, love it. Are there actually people whose favorite season is something other than fall?

Have a great day, thank God for all that He has given you, and smile...life is good.

Brian