Obama, Easter, and Silence.

  A lesson that's been impacting me lately has been that we need to make up our own minds. I need to make up my own mind.  You need to make up your own mind.  Too often we let culture, friends, family, our church, etc. make up our minds for us; and we fail to think through things on our own, check out full facts, and un-stick the stigma from our cluttered minds.  


  One area I feel this happens way too often in is politics.  How rarely can political information be shared without bias and drama free??


  I've been learning to make up my own mind about President Obama.   As I've mentioned before in my other blogs on politics, the one thing I know about our President now and all political leaders is that we as Christians are to treat them with respect, period.  That alone has spurred much of my frustration with some of the comments I've heard from some Christians and Republicans.  


  If I didn't make up my own mind, I would think that Obama was a Muslim and the anti-Christ.  I would think that he is that absolute worst thing that could happen to America.


  It seems that we are super skilled on dishing dirt, spreading negativity, and rolling in the drama. If a hint is made or rumor heard that can be added to the "what is this world coming to" bash-wagon then by all means, let's jump on!


  Yet when I try to make up my own mind I see things quite differently.  Is our president perfect?  Of course not.  Are there things I disagree with Obama on?  Of course.  But with all the negativity I've heard from others, I was shocked to hear the following speech from Obama himself.   I shouldn't be surprised that his Easter prayer breakfast speech was not facebooked, tweeted, or newsflashed like the other less-than-positive comments have been, because it doesn't fit with what we want to think about Obama.  I wonder, if one of the up-and-coming Republican candidates had given this speech, would it have been talked about and praised?  Instead, I'm sure there will be some excuse made for this speech of Obama's and many faults found.


  But in my own mind, I find this speech refreshing, courageous, and inspiring.  Especially as our President shares of Easter...


  "It's an opportunity for us to reflect on the triumph of the resurrection, and to give thanks for the all-important gift of grace.  And for me, and I'm sure some of you, it's also a chance to remember the tremendous sacrifice that led up to that day, and all that Christ endured- not just as a Son of God, but as a human being.  So it is only because Jesus conquered His own anguish, conquered His fear, that we're able to celebrate the resurrection.  It's only because He endured unimaginable pain that wracked His body and bore the sins of the world that He burdened- that we are able to proclaim 'He is risen!'"  


  I hope you listen to the full speech below:


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2012/04/04/president-obama-hosts-easter-prayer-breakfast_n_1402871.htm

Seek the Living

It's been a few weeks since my last blog, and I must admit it might be because of the attention my Baby Hart blog is getting from me;)  Baby Hart has definitely been a marvelous part of life and has added deeper meaning to so many things.  One of those things was Easter this year.  My absolute favorite holiday is Easter; the beauty and power of the cross and empty tomb never cease to blow me away.  I am amazed at what Jesus did for me.  This year, Easter took on a whole new meaning as I celebrated what Jesus did for my son! 


     Another new lesson that hit me this Easter came from a passage I've heard many times.  Among the different Scripture that was read on Sunday morning, Luke 24:1-6 was read:

"But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.  And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen."

              

...Why do you seek the living among the dead?...


This question that was asked of these women so long ago, took on a whole new and current meaning to me.  How often do we seek the living among the dead?  How often do I??  We seek "the living"... satisfaction, joy, fulfillment, abundance... among "the dead" instead of looking to the living Christ.  "The dead" we search can be anything from straight up sinful habits like drugs and promiscuity; to "good" things, such as our jobs, relationships, hobbies, etc. that could be tools used by and for "the living" if we were ultimately seeking Him. "The dead" we search among can even be our churches as we seek religious status, as we go through the motions, and put on a show without having a TRULY cultivated, personal, abiding walk with Christ.


And so we "seek the living among the dead" and find ourselves lifeless, unsatisfied, and cold.  Dead.


Jesus offers us "living water" (John 7:38) and "abundant life".  We need to stop seeking the living among the dead... stop looking in at empty tombs and missing what's above.  It's time to surrender and accept the living water and abundant life Christ is offering us, not just for eternity, but for today... for here... for now.