Record on Abortion: John McCain

Supports overturning Roe v. Wade. Voted in favor of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Voted in favor of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (states that an unborn child killed or injured in a violent federal crime is a second victim, and the perpetrator can be charged with a second offense). Opposes the "Freedom of Choice Act." Voted in favor of a bill that requires an abortionist to contact the parents before performing an abortion on a minor from another state.

Record on Abortion: Barack Obama

Co-sponsor of "Freedom of Choice Act" (nullifies all federal and state limitations on abortion, including what is currently permitted by the Supreme Court). Supports the legalization of partial birth abortions. Voted against an amendment that would permit states to give federally subsidized healthcare insurance for an unborn child. As a member of the Illinois State Senate, he opposed the "Born-Alive Infants Protection Act" (would allow for the protection for babies who survived abortions, as well as for babies who are born prematurely). Voted against a bill that requires an abortionist to contact the parents before performing an abortion on a minor from another state.

"If" (Rudyard Kipling)

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, A
nd yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

When the time is not now...

We live in a world where everyone acts on impulse. When we want something, we do whatever we can to get it. Some people will make attempts within reason; others lose all sense of conviction and sound judgment. Still, no matter how hard we try or how badly we might want something, we don't get it simply because it is not the time. I choose to believe that we don't get what we often want because it is not God's will or His plan for our lives. It's these disappointments that comprise the realm of severe blessings. They hurt but are always for our own good. More often than not something else comes along that was better than what we wanted in the first place. The problem with such hopeful prospects is that they require waiting and thus an endurable amount of patience. We, as impatient creatures, don't know how to cope with these circumstances, so we quickly become so discouraged that we fail to grasp the definitive anchor of hope that comes with waiting: the future. We may not get what we want right away, but we have no right to lose hope as long as there is a future. What would be the point of life if it was a dead end road? What we want may take time and we might not get what we wanted in the first place. But somehow things never fail to work out in the end. It's truly these severe blessings that make God so real and so close. But as long as there is a tomorrow, there is hope.

Severely Blessed

By the mercy of God, I have been very blessed in my life. I take so many of those blessings for granted and often want more than what I have instead of simply being content. When that happens, I become severely blessed. "Severe blessings" are those that don't work out according to my desires. They are "severe" because they are often painful, but they are blessings because God uses them to work in my life and teach me some valuable lessons. I may not get what I want or when I do get what I want, it's not as great as I originally thought. Nevertheless, the pain is worth the lessons from these experiences. So while it may sound like an oxymoron, it never fails to make me marvel at how God can take even our hurts and angers and turn them into something beautiful simply for the sake of bringing us closer to Him.

Where You Are vs. Who You Are

In a recent post, I quoted the great Ralph Ellison, who said, "Perhaps to lose a sense of where you are implies the danger of losing a sense of who you are." While I agree that your surroundings and place in life influences who you are, I also believe that it can work in the opposite way. Where you are can also show you who you are not and where you should be as opposed to where you are. For example, every day I get up and I go to school - high school to be specific. And each day is a living testimony that where I currently am in life is not where I should be. I do not belong in this town or in this school. Still, though I trudge through the ditches and defication of civilization, I am thankful because where I am has shown me who I am not and who I want to be. The future is full of possibilities, and the most satisfying aspect is that I know I have limitless opportunities and amazing experiences waiting for me. As cliche as it sounds, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And while I look forward to attaining the light, I will always remember the tunnel because the experience showed me who I am and who I am meant to be.

Word of the Day

Every day I look forward to just one word. The fun part is I never know what that word will be. But dictionary.com never fails to provide me with my "word of that day" email. I wait patiently and impatiently throughout the day to get home to my laptop, sign in, and check my email. With breath bated, I anticipate the one email that will banish every deplorable aspect of my day with just one word. I keep the emails in a special folder in my email program so that I can cherish every word that has brightened my day and graced my humble vocabulary. The words are wonderful, but the real lesson is that sometimes all it takes is just one word.

The Elusive Today

I have decided that the hardest thing in life is to live in the present. Anyone who knows me well could tell you that I am the strongest advocate of the present. I believe it is the key to true bliss and contentment, and it is the source of wisdom and knowledge. But it is without a doubt the hardest thing to grasp. And it is so ironic because it is ours for the taking yet we constantly overlook its relevance and importance in an effort to find more and satiate our curiosity. The future is so much more enticing because we don't have it, and as humans, we always want what we can't have - at least, what we can't have immediately. The fact that the future is unknown and new makes it that much more desirable. Because of our curious hunger for possibility, we miss the now that makes us who we are. As the narrator says in Ralph Ellison's novel Invisible Man, "Perhaps to lose a sense of where you are implies the danger of losing a sense of who you are." Where we are is the present, in which who we are is deeply embedded. It might take suffering and heartache, but I am determined to take it by force. I will continue to hope for and dream of the future, but first and foremost, I will hold to the present. It is all I have, and my heart needs to know who I am.

"If"

It's such a dangerous word - the only word I know to hold so much potential for both promise and regret. It can drive us to do things we might never before have dared because we think about what could be as opposed to what is. A major downside of "if" is that there is rarely any middle ground; things either turn out wonderfully or terribly. But that is not the worst characterstic. No, the worst thing is that "if" causes us to look ahead, behind, to the sides - anywhere but here. Because of "if," the present no longer exists. There is no "is". Don't misunderstand. The future and the past are important - even essential - to who we are. There is no doubt that both influence us, and one often affects the other. But without the present - without the "is" - we cannot reach our full potential or live life to the fullest. All we have is the here and now. The past is a picture on my bedroom wall, and the future is nothing but some hopeful words nestled in an envelope. Without the "is," there is no past and there is definitely no future. It is the bridge that connects who we used to be to who we are to who we will become.
"If" can burn every single bridge ever built and crossed, causing our attention to center either on regrets or on some bright, promising possibility. "If" is the culprit behind the want that undermines the "have." Don't you feel happier and more content when you finally own that book that you have wanted for weeks? The one you passed by every time you visited the bookstore and had to leave each time. You feel a little more fulfilled once you have it. The same is true of the present. Until we have the "is," we will never be completely content or fulfilled. The sad thing is that we already have it, but we don't realize it. We sit waiting for the "is" when, in reality, the "is" is waiting for us. So leave "if" behind and embrace "is." Then your life and who you are will be defined, and the past and the future will fall into place.

My Version of Rudyard Kipling's poem "If"

If you can keep the simple pleasures, if you can trust God, if you can wait at the window to see a shooting star, if you can dream of the future while holding to the present, if you can think of the past without regret, if you can meet the new day with hope, if you can bear hardship and pain, if you can make someone smile, if you can force yourself to jump in the cold water and just get it over with, if you can talk to your best friend all night long, if you can fill your cup with coffee, then you can live life with the satisfaction of being you.