Surreality: a mix of fact and fantasy

Fact: I graduated college on Friday. Fact: I still have three finals to take. Fact: It's hard to be motivated when you already have your empty degree folder (to be mailed 12 weeks later) and all the pictures (Here's a link to the photos) to prove you walked across the stage and shook the dean's hand.
But it still feels like fantasy. I can imagine moving out of my house; I've done it every break thus far. I can imagine going home for the holidays; I've done that before too. But after that, my imagination is drawing blanks, fearful that any images it could conjure would lead to expectations. And what if I don't meet my own expectations?
The milestones I have achieved thus far, I never expected or demanded or deserved. I plan to maintain this mindset, to be pleasantly surprised by any greatness that is bestowed upon me.
I expect Great things, of course. But that's all I know for now.

THE GROWING NEED FOR A SHRINKING PLENTY

It’s a good thing Christmas comes mid-winter. On days like today — when the cold bites through thin layers and proves the sun deceived me into not wearing a coat — it’s good that the chill comes with the thrill of holiday.

I feel the chill in a lot of ways this year. Economically, many are finding themselves out in the cold, unprotected. Many have been lured outdoors under the pretense of “fast and easy,” as is the case with many of the mortgage loans that have led to foreclosures across the country. The frigid reality is a shock compared to the warm pictures of financial security and luxury that accompanied the signing of contracts. For many, this may be the coldest winter yet.

A few harsh winds into my walk this morning sent me whimpering back to the house for a coat. But it breaks my heart to think of the many who don’t have that choice, who don’t have a home or a coat to find in it. As these circumstances plague more and more people across the country, I find that Americans’ reactions to them are worse than the cause. Instead of giving, we are hoarding. Instead of saving, we are gambling and shopping beyond our means to “save the economy.” Food banks and nonprofit charities are hurting for resources during the greatest time of need for those they serve. Casinos are flourishing; alcohol sales are rising.

It may be counter intuitive when we feel unable to meet our increasing needs, but is it not still better to give than to receive? Maybe the Christmas cliche will remind us of what it takes to warm even the coldest of financial winters.

THE CHRISTMAS GIMMEES

I’m not a parent. But if I were I would take the advice of this article on defining the money crunch for kids. The article doesn’t detail financial matters to the decimal, but the details aren’t as important as the prompt to start the conversation.

I’m not a parent, but I am a peer, and I feel an oddly similar burden to start conversations with fellow students and co-workers about wise economic habits. I was blessed with a mother in the banking business, a pocket phone-a-friend on financial matters. Most of my peers at college have been blessed (cursed) with Daddy’s credit card instead. It seems the parent-child financial conversations didn’t go past “Daddy, may I have…” and the “Yes, sweetheart” that almost certainly followed.

It is this mentality that underlies so many of our current issues. I watch commentators suggesting that spending will boost the economy. Spending beyond your means, using a little credit, come one — it’s the Christmas spirit! But I cheer aloud to hear the one lone voice of wisdom, “How about people start spending within their means? It may not fix the immediate problem, but it will be better for us all in the long run.”

The long run. It’s a concept I could barely fathom at 13 when my mom said, “This won’t matter in 5 years.” At 13, my Christmas wish list mattered more than anything. And as much as I stomped and hollered, I am so thankful that my banking mom knew how to say, “NO.” And with this mindset, I wisely launch my Christmas shopping.

The vote that matters

I voted yesterday. I got up at 5:30 a.m., got ready and roused my former roomie Carrie to join me in line. The early morning crowd at 7 a.m. wasn't as bad as I'd expected. The air was brisk and hope-filled. New.
I voted for the first time in the primaries last semester (that's why I registered here instead of Kansas). But yesterday was my first real-live presidential election (since I turned 18 a couple months after Bush was elected).
Though the media had predicted the winner days before, I so believed my vote still mattered. That it still had power and purpose.
Even in a red state like Oklahoma.
Walking in, flashing an ID, marking a few solid lines and getting a sticker -- tada! Civic duties fulfilled for the day. It felt good. A lot better than other things that end with a sticker (shots, for example). By 7:30 a.m., I had done so much.
The good feeling lasted a moment, quickly replaced by a burden that has become a familiar weight on my heart.
My country.
If I believe my vote counts and can change things in a red state, in an election already called by the media...
How much more should I believe my prayers count in the hands of an omnipotent God?
I voted. The result: a tally mark, a grain of sand, a mission accomplished and a proudly-donned sticker.
I prayed. I am praying. And the fruit will be worth far more than a sticker. It will be God's will. And He is more than pleased when His people participate in it.

The warning signs

There are far too many resemblances between America and the disobedient Israel that Jeremiah describes. Granted, we are under a different covenant than this Old Testament crowd, but our sins are just as grave and God's judgment will still come for those who are not washed with the blood of Christ. I do not claim that Jeremiah is a prophet for today, but I strongly believe that history and humanity repeat themselves and that we should heed the lessons of the past.

Throughout the book we see the warning signs that plague our current generation. In chapter 15, for example, there is a drought (an economic crisis) as a consequence for disobedience (as promised in Leviticus 26:18-20, "Your strength will be spent uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce...") We have seen people working in vain, their hopes rising and falling with the stock index, living and working without God's blessing. The other judgments you predicted in Leviticus are too much to bear! To think of what our sins really deserved, the tide of wrath that is withheld by the gracious body of Christ who intercedes. May we trust in God, the source of all security and blessing.

Psalm 126 is my prayer as we elect a new leader on Tuesday, as all eyes fix on America to see what decision it will make. My heart breaks for what that decision may say about the hearts and priorities of Americans. But my fervent prayer is for the redemption of this country, that God may raise up leaders of integrity, leaders that obey His Law and incur His blessings upon this country because of their obedience. Many other countries view America as a Christian country, which is why they are so baffled as they see the way we live. This is also why God's glory would be Great if His people would turn to him, repent and be saved. If they could see the change that occurs in a nation when it turns to its maker in obedience, and receives the blessings that entails.

Psalm 126:1-3 "When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said AMONG THE NATIONS, 'THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR THEM.' THE LORD HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR US, AND WE ARE FILLED WITH JOY."
May it be said, "When the Lord brought back the people of America..." We would truly be "like those who dream," like those who have prayed and prayed for redemption in belief, but are still amazed at the grace of God when he answers prayers beyond our wildest dreams. I long to hear it said that the Lord has done great things for His people. Maybe first, it will be through strengthening the remnant in America, which God will bless even as the country does not seek His face. But I pray still for the whole of America. You died for all, Jesus.

For the believers, let us identify ourselves so vividly with the plight of our country that we may pray as Jeremiah prayed, that we may be heard as he was heard, "I mourn, dismay has taken hold of me." (Jer. 8:21)
Jer. 14:7 "Although our sins testify against us, O Lord, do something FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR NAME. For our backsliding is great; we have sinned against you... You are among us, O Lord, and we bear your name; do not forsake us!"

You may save and redeem us, or you may allow this "great" nation to fall... either will be for the sake of your Great Name. But we ask for redemption, and we ask for your glory.

WJI in AP article

This article references the World Journalism Institute, which I attended this summer in New York. More importantly, it references a part of the reason I'm excited about my career in journalism. 

Christians in newsrooms AP article

So should I start referencing this article in my cover letters? "Ooh ooh that's me! I went to that place and I can help you meet your Christian newsroom quota!" Probably not. But it does encourage me and remind me of my heart for those newsrooms, for the amplified purpose their calling represents to me as a hopeful teller of truths great and small.

avoiding econ woes

This is a picture of the Dow Industrial ratings from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m... a few minutes ago. This picture may mean a lot to you, especially recently. You may even have a fluctuating version set as the background on your desktop. Or it may easily double as your "happiness" or "stress" meter, rising and falling in correlation to the chart. 

You may be of the camp that has chosen not to look. You may currently be $40,000 poorer than a month ago in stock assets... but not if you don't look. You will wait until the storm has passed to open your eyes and asses the damage.

I almost began investing in the stock market last year. After writing a story for the campus newspaper on the demise of Social Security, I thought it wise to begin thinking about my personal investment options. Thankfully, I didn't quite follow through.

What bothers me most about the current financial climate is not that many of my loved ones and their retirement plans are being personally impacted by this, but by the reactions of many Americans. It has become clear that far too many people have their HOPE in the stock market, in finances, in worldly assets... all of which will pass away. The pastor at Journey Church said he met with businessmen yesterday morning and yesterday afternoon (after the Dow had risen about 900 points) and their demeanors were completely different. The quality of their days were contingent on this chart that looks more like the heart monitor of an asthmatic chimpanzee than the financial status of the "world's most powerful country."

If we believe in Christ as our HOPE, this economic crisis should spark in us an even greater desire to give to the church and to others in generosity, as it reminds us that any wealth or possessions are not our own. We have no reason to cling to them, only to be proper stewards of them, to use them to further the kingdom. If Americans (and stock market speculators) viewed their worldly assets like this, the stock market would portray a much healthier ebb and flow. We wouldn't be basing the success of our day on a series of tick marks and numbers, but on the generosity with which we used whatever portion we have been allotted. 

This crisis should be a beautiful awakening to the opportunity and responsibility of Christ's followers to give. 

The church and its body will not stop having needs in the midst of this crisis. No, they may only increase as the poor become poorer. But if we hoard "our" finances in FEAR of economic woes and the future, we will not experience the blessing God desires for us and others through the discipline of giving.

Malachi 3:10

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."