Remember the first time you voted?

The Presidential election of 1976 was my first voting experience. The 1970's were tumultuous times in politics. Richard Nixon resigned the Presidency after being exposed during the Watergate scandal. His Vice-President, Gerald Ford, assumed the position of President and, soon thereafter, pardoned Nixon. This was very unpopular with many people, Democrat and Republican alike.

Reluctantly, Ford agreed to run in the 1976 election. In the primaries, former California governor, Ronald Reagan ran against Ford but, ultimately bowed out at the Republican convention. I voted for Reagan in the Georgia primary. He and I lost. In the general election, Ford ran against Jimmy Carter. I voted for Ford. He and I lost. Two voting opportunities and I was 0-2. Hmmm, didn't start my voting career so well.

I am a Republican. Here is how I voted in the following elections:

1976- Voted for Ronald Reagan in primary. Voted for Gerald Ford in election (Carter won)

1980- Voted for Ronald Reagan in primary. Voted for Ronald Reagan in election (Carter lost)

1984- Voted for Ronald Reagan in primary. Voted for Ronald Reagan in election (Mondale lost)

1988- Voted for Pat Robertson in primary*. Voted for George H.W. Bush in election (Dukakis lost)

1992- Voted for Pat Buchanon in primary*. Voted for George H.W. Bush in election (Clinton won)

1996- Voted for Alan Keyes in primary. Voted for Bob Dole in election (Clinton won)

2000- Voted for Alan Keyes in primary. Voted for George W. Bush in election (Gore lost)

2004- Voted for George W. Bush in primary. Voted for George W. Bush in election (Kerry lost)

2008- Voted for Mike Huckaby in primary. Voted for John McCain in election (Obama won)

* I consider these to be protest votes. I was not a fan of George H.W. Bush.

So, I have voted in 9 primaries and 9 general elections. My record in the primaries? 3 wins, 6 losses. My record in the general elections? 5 wins, 4 losses.

Except for Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush's second term election, I have voted against the eventual Republican nominee 67% of the time. Not sure what that says about my political persuasion but, I don't automatically go for the leading Republican candidate. I try to vote for who I think is the better candidate not for the one I think will eventually win.

Voting. An American privilege. Do it as often as they let you.

Joe Paterno

Joe Paterno Dec 21, 1926- Jan 22, 2012

On Sunday January 22, Joe Paterno, affectionately known as JoePa, died from lung cancer at the age of 85. Until November of 2011, Paterno was best known as the winningest Division 1 college football coach with 409 victories. He coached for 61 years at Penn State (46 years as head coach) and was a legend in Happy Valley, PA and around the entire country. His teams won National Championships in 1982 (beat Georgia in the 1983 Sugar Bowl) and again in 1986 (beat Miami in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl.) He won 24 of the 37 bowl games he coached and, in 2007, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. The superlatives that could be said about Coach Paterno could fill up a page.

But Coach Paterno became part of a scandal involving sex abuse charges against his former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky. Because Paterno was alleged to have been told about the abuse years ago by a graduate assistant and, Paterno failed to report it to police, he was fired by the Board of Trustees. Paterno did report the abuse to the Athletic Director and later to the Director of Business and Finance but, apparently failed to follow up to ensure that one of them reported it to police since he did not report it himself.

The reaction to the news that Paterno had been made aware that Sandusky had abused a boy in a shower and didn't immediately notify police has ranged from seething outrage to unapologetic defense of Paterno's action or lack thereof. Many of Paterno's most loyal fans believe that Paterno should not have been criticized and punished for not going beyond his legal reporting obligation. Others believe that there is no excuse for his lack of more deliberate action.

My question is this. How will Joe Paterno be remembered? His accomplishments as a football coach are nothing short of remarkable. He is 1 of only 3 head coaches of Division 1 (now called FBS) programs to win 400 games. His reputation as a coach and mentor is legendary. He was a strong advocate for athletes to succeed academically and to graduate. But less than 4 months before he died, he was forced out in disgrace by a university he had been a part of for 61 years. Will the sex scandal ultimately be the defining event of Joe Paterno's life? Should it?

Joe Paterno, admittedly made a terrible mistake by not taking more action. Had he taken more action, it is possible some of those boys may have been spared from Sandusky's abuse. Did Paterno have a motive for not doing more? Was he protecting his friend, the football program, his and the university's reputation or did he just assume that what he did was enough? I want to believe it was the latter.

We all make mistakes. Obviously, some mistakes have significantly greater consequences than others. Some follow us for the rest of our lives and are remembered even long after we are gone. A reputation, built over 85 long years, can be irreparably damaged in the blink of an eye. How history remembers Joe Paterno cannot be known at this time. For us, it is a stark reminder that we must make good choices and always strive to do the right thing. While God forgives us for our errors, we still have to live with the earthly consequences.

My condolences go out to his family, friends and all the Penn State faithful in their loss of JoePa.

What's wrong with being a janitor?

In the most recent Republican debate in Myrtle Beach, SC, Juan Williams and Newt Gingrich got into a lively back and forth over comments that Gingrich had made concerning President Obama, food stamps and jobs. In Newt's response to Williams he further stated an example of how jobs could be created for young people. He suggested that, given the very high pay rate of janitors in New York that, if they were to reduce the number of janitors by just a few, that money could be paid to many more young unemployed people at a starting wage and help them to earn money, learn the benefit of a job and paycheck, and learn about the responsibility that comes with having to come to work on time and put in a full shift of work.

Somehow, Mr. Williams thought that suggestion was demeaning, especially to young African-Americans. I guess doing the job of a janitor is somehow beneath some people. Newt's comments drew a very rare, standing ovation.

When I was 15, my first job that provided an actual paycheck and eventual W2 form was working at a softball field one summer...I made a whopping $1.60 per hour; then minimum wage. My job was to pick up all the trash that remained from the previous evening's games, and to prepare the field for that night's games. The coolest part of the job was dragging the infield. During the interview, I was asked if I knew how to drive a stick shift vehicle. I lied and said of course I could. The ball field had an old, beat-up Volkswagen Beetle that was used to pull a small section of chain link fence in a circular pattern around the infield to smooth out the clay. That's how I learned how to drive a manual transmission. I mowed grass, striped the baselines and batter's boxes with chalk, and even built some new bleachers...pretty much everything. I was the only one there all day long. My boss told me that I could help myself to anything I wanted out of the concession stand behind the backstop. I learned that if I worked a vigorous pace, I could spend a good part of the day sitting in the small concession building drinking Fanta Grape soda and listening to the latest hits on the cheap AM radio. If I dragged the work out, well...less time to relax.

When my junior year of high school started in the fall, my next job was working in the motor pool at an Army Reserve Center. I worked in the afternoon after school from 1-5 since our school was doing double sessions and my school day ended at noon. That's where I learned about working with folks with all sorts of different personalities and opinions (I was the only young guy working there.) I also learned a few dirty jokes, how to make strong, black coffee and how to drive all of the vehicles there...jeeps, deuce and a half, and the big 10 ton trucks (essentially like the big over-the-road tractor-trailer truck on the highway.) I wasn't able to play sports or run track that year because I needed the job and couldn't do both.

Moving to Augusta for my senior year, my job on weekends was working as a janitor at the NCO Club at Fort Gordon. I pushed a broom, picked up trash, mopped and did just about any other menial task I was asked to do. By the way, minimum wage was still $1.60 per hour.

I never believed that any of those jobs were beneath me. Hey, I needed a job and was willing to take whatever I could get. I learned so much in that process. I also learned that I didn't want to do those types of jobs for the rest of my life.

I won't bore you with all the jobs I've had but my last employer hired me to work in a warehouse shipping out parts for a whopping $2.35 per hour. I retired from that company nearly 33 years later and was blessed to climb the ladder doing several different jobs, including 15 years as a VP. Not bragging....just illustrating the fact that we all have to start somewhere and for most, it is near the bottom of the ladder. Oh, and that metaphor is intentional...we learn that climbing is hard work.

But some believe that suggesting that someone do a janitorial or other menial job is insulting and demeaning. Wow, I never realized that I should have been insulted all those years. I was just thankful to have a job, a paycheck and an opportunity.

Does God Really Care Who Wins the Game?

Prayer. To me, this is one of the most unique endeavors a human can undertake. Think about what prayer is...a conversation, often silent, between you and the Creator of the Universe. In the first place, I am amazed that we can even get an audience with God. In your sphere of influence and using your best connections, who is the highest ranking or most famous person you could have a one-on-one conversation with right now? Call the White House and ask to speak to President Obama. Call the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and tell them that you would like to speak to Billy Graham. You get my point.

God does not, like an annoyed parent around a pestering child, irritatedly say to us OK, OK, what is it? No, he desires to hear from us. All the time. According to the world population clock, as I write these words, the population of our planet is 6,987,718,467....nearly 7 billion people. At this very moment, I wonder how many are having a conversation with God? How can God "hear" and engage in that many conversations simultaneously? Well, He is God and when I stop thinking like He has limitations that we humans have, I can simply be in wonder that He can do anything.

What do you pray about? I know our prayers are not just requests that we make of God. In our prayers, we acknowledge Him for who He is. We express our adoration. Maybe, not often enough, we say how we have fallen short or how we have been disobedient or confess things for which we seek forgiveness. We thank Him for the blessings in our life. We thank Him for what He has done. We thank Him for Christmas and Good Friday and Easter. But, we also spend a lot of our prayer time making requests.

God, heal my friend's grandmother. Lord, help me repair this damaged marriage. Father, let this pregnancy not end like the last two that ended in miscarriage. Help me do my best on this exam...by the way, I need at least a B or I will lose my scholarship. God, protect my cousin who is in Afghanistan.

Many, many years ago, I was asked by a co-worker to play on his church's softball team. In those days, I was a pretty good player and so I agreed. We always had a team prayer prior to the start of the game and I can still vividly remember the coach of the team asking God, in every single one of those pre-game prayers, to give us base hits. ...base hits. And he didn't even qualify it with that often used (but, in my view, unnecessary) caveat..."if that would be Your will." In a world of suffering and war and disease and poverty and hunger and strife and a 50% divorce rate and childhood leukemia, he is asking the God of the Universe for base hits. I'll be honest...that sorta bugged me. Many of us have considered prayers we have heard or even spoken ourselves and thought "God has bigger things to worry about than whether your team wins the game."

Really? If your child came to you and said, Daddy, the thunder scares me. Do you say, honey, I've got a tax return that I need to complete and I also need to finish my presentation for work tomorrow...I don't have time for that and even if I did, being scared of thunder is nonsense. Come back to me when you have something really important to discuss. Mommy, can I have a hug? Can't you see that I am busy right now? Why don't you go watch TV until supper is ready.

God is never too busy. And there is no request from your heart that He does not want to hear. He delights in you and me. He is the Father that has all the time in the world to listen to you. He is the Mother that is never too busy to hold you and hug you and listen to even your most silly concern.

Do you ever make deals with God? God, if You will make this situation turn out the way I want it to, I promise I will ______________. Pretty sure most of us have done that. We ask God to "intervene" in the course of human activity and history and adjust the rudder to turn the ship of inevitability just enough to change the result that is otherwise obvious. When my father-in-law, Ed, was in the latter stage of his cancer, I struggled with what to ask God to do. I wanted a miraculous healing to take place knowing that the doctor's prediction ran counter to that. So, do I pray for healing or do I pray that God will take away his suffering and pain and mercifully let him die? God, please heal him, but, if not, then I ask that you please allow him to not experience any more of this terrible pain. Thinking back, I only asked for two possibilities. What if there was a third? But, in my heartbreak, I was being honest and I think God asks that of us. Tell me what is on your heart...I'll deal with the rest, I think He says. Even when we do not know what to pray...God tells us in Romans 8: 26,27: "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God."


Ed battled cancer for many years. We prayed and prayed for his outcome with cancer to be different than what actually occurred. But, God was glorified through Ed's ordeal. I shared a story at his funeral:

I want to share one last story. Ed re-entered the hospital 8 days ago and was very sick. On Monday of last week one of his co-workers at Augusta Regional, a good friend, went to visit him. She had been reading her Bible and their conversation turned to that. She had been reading about Noah; and Ed, with oxygen tubes up his nose, morphine and antibiotics running into his arm, began to talk to her about God flooding the earth because of man’s wickedness, but sparing Noah and his family. He went on to explain how God sent His only Son to pay the price for our sin and provide a way for us to be forgiven and enjoy eternal life with Him. Dying of cancer in a hospital bed, Ed led his friend to the Lord and she professed her faith in Jesus Christ.

What if God had answered my prayer the way I asked Him to? Would Ed have had that opportunity to share Jesus Christ with her? We'll never know.

God is glorified through football wins and tragedy, newborns and cancer, triumphs and disasters, graduations and incarcerations. I want my prayers to be honest...if it is on my heart, I want to share it with Him. But in all that I ask for, I always want God to be glorified in the outcome. If that is done by His saying "yes," that is wonderful. If, however, He is glorified through "no" or "not now", then so be it. That's my prayer.

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Marriage

The Republican primary season is in full swing and the various candidates are employing their strategies to win the nomination of their party. Some seem to be focused on courting the more conservative party voters while others seem to be trying to attract the more moderate voters and independents.

Rick Santorum has clearly been one of the more outspoken candidates when it comes to social issues. He is currently in New Hampshire and, at a meeting on Friday, he addressed issues with college students in Durham, NH. One of the topics was same-sex marriage. His position that marriage should only be between a man and a woman was met with heckling and disdain. Many of these college students disagreed with him and Rick Santorum is clearly not a favorite among gays.

So, what is the correct answer? Today, some states (including New Hampshire) allow same sex couples to marry. (By the way, New Hampshire's state motto is "Live Free or Die") Other states allow something called civil unions...not exactly the same thing as marriage, but close. In most states, any type of legal union between same sex partners is not allowed. Certainly people that are married are provided certain rights and benefits that non-married people are not afforded. Some believe that by not allowing same-sex partners to enter into this legal status, they are being discriminated against relative to these benefits. My understanding is that states that allow for civil unions effectively provide many of these benefits through this alternative arrangement while falling short of calling it marriage.

Marriage has traditionally been both a religious status and a legal status. The majority of marriage ceremonies are held in houses of worship officiated by the "clergy" of that particular religion. But people can also be legally married by various public officials like judges, justices of the peace (and even ship captains!) To be legally married in the US, one is not required to participate in any religious ceremony, only one that is legal.

So, can marriage be simply a legal status? Right or wrong, in the US, the obvious answer is yes. So, marriage has been defined, by precedence and practice, as a legal status granted by governing authorities. As long as that is the case, laws will ultimately have to be based upon considerations that do not necessarily involve any religious influence. That does not suggest that moral considerations are not considered but, many, if not most, "moral" norms are traced back to some religious teaching so, we keep coming back to the influence of religious teachings.

So, we have a societal dilemma. Homosexual people are going to have relationships with their partners regardless of any laws that are passed. And these partners are going to live together because there will be no laws passed forbidding this, and, even if there were, laws like that could never realistically be enforced. There are other marriage related laws...laws forbidding polygamy, laws preventing certain family members from marrying, laws with regards to age of consent and probably several others.

I think one of the major issues has to do with the very meaning of the word "marriage." That word has traditionally denoted the strongest identification of the joining of a man and woman in relationship. Nobody has ever asked me how long Carol and I have been "unioned." I think that many gay couples' primary desire is to secure all of the legal benefits and acknowledgement that a legal "joining" affords. But I also believe that most gay couples desire their relationship to be acknowledged by society as equally legitimate and acceptable as that of any heterosexual marriage relationship. Many heterosexuals have a problem with that because most people in the US see it as a moral/ religious issue. But, our government doesn't look at marriage as a strictly religious status, it is a civil, legal status. People of faith generally view marriage as something much more significant than a legal contract...it is something ordained by God. Unfortunately, the divorce rate of these marriages mirrors that of secular marriages. (Maybe a bigger problem is man/woman marriage...but that is a subject for a different blog.)

So, when it comes to this marriage issue, what is the right and best thing to do? Hmmm, is that one question or two? You tell me.

In the meantime, can we agree that we will treat all people with respect regardless of which "H" word they identify with? At the end of the day, we are all just people, loved equally by our Maker.

Inspiration

Have you ever been inspired? All of us can probably point to at least one time in our life when we were genuinely inspired. I don't mean motivated...I mean inspired...there is a difference.

There are all sorts of things that can do that to and for us...special moments in our lives, tragedies, songs, nature, literature, people...so many different things can serve to inspire us.

A friend of mine was inspired by a photograph she took almost 10 years ago while vacationing at Edisto Island, South Carolina. Rising early one morning, Jan went down to the shoreline to take some pictures of the sunrise with a borrowed camera (she didn't even own one of her own.) After she returned from her trip and had the film developed, she and her friend Mary were looking through the photos and discovered an image in the clouds in one of the photos that left them both speechless. What Jan and Mary saw in the photograph was a face. That photograph served as an inspiration for Jan to ultimately write a short, 16-page book she titled "The Lord Make His Face Shine Upon Thee and Be Gracious Unto Thee." The title page adds: "A Story of Love, Loss, Rebellion, Redemption, Grace and God's Favor." What makes the photograph even more significant is the fact that, prior to her trip, Jan, in her prayer time, had made a very specific request of God.

Last year, Jan shared with me that she was going to write the book...a special story about the photograph and what it meant to her. I told her that I thought that was a great idea and encouraged her to do so (she really didn't need any encouraging from me because she had already been inspired to write it.) Many months ago, she brought a manuscript to my store and asked me if I would like to read what she had written. I said yes but honestly didn't really plan to read all of it. During a slow point in the day, I opened the manila folder containing the pages she had written... I read every word and was moved by the story that she shared. There were a few places that nearly brought me to tears. What she has written is a story about a photograph but, maybe more importantly, a poignant story about her own life and faith journey.

Unfortunately, Jan was not successful in finding a publisher willing to print her book so she had a local printer produce copies of the book for her. One of Jan's co-workers helped her with the layout. Jan's desire was to have some books ready for Christmas but, problems with the local printer's equipment made that goal seem unattainable. Somehow (!), the problem was resolved and Jan received the first batch of books on December 23rd. Jan had decided one of those books was going to be for me. I feel honored and blessed that she would give me one of her first copies.

Why am I blogging about Jan's book? Because Jan was inspired by a photograph to write a book and, Jan's reasons for and decision to write a book inspired me to start writing my blog. Funny how that works.

Want some inspiration? Contact Jan Ayer and ask to buy a copy of her book.

Jan's photograph, which she titled "Safe Haven," has been shared with several notable people/groups including Dr. Charles Stanley, President George W. and Laura Bush, Thomas Kincade, and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Their responses are detailed at the end of the book.

Jan can be contacted through her Facbook page.