Obama Elected President
I awoke this morning to a new world. This isn’t a political blog; I will not often discuss political events other than how they impact on lives. My family was die-hard Republican until my father retired. During Ronald Reagan’s presidency, it all changed – his domestic policies hit retirees hard. My father was a man who, when we tried to give him ideas how he could pay less in taxes, looked at us and said “Why would I want to pay less in taxes? I served our great country, they paid my salary and now they give me retirement and health care. Why would I want to pay less in taxes.” God rest his soul. But he started voting Democrat – and said Republican policies only helped the very rich, and hurt the middle-class.
I never thought I would see the day a black man would be elected President in the United States. John McCain is a decent man, he would have made a fine president, and he gave one of the most graceful speeches acknowledging his election loss I have ever heard. May God richly bless him. Obama’s win is very exciting – a new day in our country.
I called our son and talked with him – barely believing Obama could have carried Florida. I told him how moving it is to me to see a black man elected (no, I am not black, but you know me, I hate prejudice) and he said “Mom, he is SMART, too.” I couldn’t have been prouder of him than at that moment.
And this is today’s Psalm. I have to share it with you – it seems such a brilliant omen:
Psalm 72
Of Solomon.
1Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to a king’s son.
2May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
3May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
4May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5May he live* while the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
8May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9May his foes* bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles
render him tribute,
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts.
11May all kings fall down before him,
all nations give him service.
12For he delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
13He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
14From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
and precious is their blood in his sight.
15Long may he live!
May gold of Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be made for him continually,
and blessings invoked for him all day long.
16May there be abundance of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
like the grass of the field.
17May his name endure for ever,
his fame continue as long as the sun.
May all nations be blessed in him;*
may they pronounce him happy.
18Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous things.
19Blessed be his glorious name for ever;
may his glory fill the whole earth.Amen and Amen.
20The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.
Great Kuwait Sand and Surf Challenge: Q8Geek
Wait until you see these entries in the Great Kuwait Sand and Surf Challenge. The Q8Geek RULES! These are going to take your breath away.
Look at the gleam on sand and log!
Oh! Oh! Well done, Q8Geek!
Soft Sunrise 4 Nov 08
It’s a soft sunrise this morning, still cloudy but not so intensely so as yesterday. It looks like we could still get some rain. At the same time, it is lighter, the atmosphere not so heavy . . . it may turn out to be a gorgeous day.
Have a good day, Kuwait.
Rosy Rainfall in Kuwait
It’s been a long day, a productive day, and at last I can take a deep breath. My friend tells me it is cold out, but I have had the oven on much of the day, and our place is warm and cozy. I would love some fresh air, so I quietly close the door to the kitchen and step out on the balcony.
It is beyond fresh. It is fresh, and raining, and off in the distance, the sun is setting and the muezzin is calling everyone to prayer and it is purely a beautiful moment.
We didn’t have rain like this last year, or the year before. We had some rain two years ago, in December mostly, but still – not like this. This has been a wonderful, continuous, soaking rain, blessing Kuwait and preparing us for an amazing winter growing season. I would love to be able to see the flowers people tell me are blooming in the desert when it rains.
In Saudi Arabia, we spent a whole day travelling to see the tiny irises that would bloom in Tumayr. Here, there are still places you can’t go, because there are explosives left over from the Gulf War, and now and then a shepherd loses a leg by stepping in the wrong place.
No Sunrise in Kuwait
You will not find me complaining about the rain. I am imagining what a difference this steady downpour is going to make in very short time. People who think of “desert” have no idea of the life in the desert waiting to spring forth at the slightest sign of moisture. It doesn’t take much – and I believe we are going to see some amazing things soon in Kuwait.
I was up for the sunrise this morning . . . no sunrise appeared. This is about the best I could do:
I thought the heavy downpour last week had washed my windows clean, but I think some dust must have come and stuck to the wet windows. Or else the rain is not so clean . . . 😦 Please pardon my streaked windows!
Life interrupts blogging. We had an emergency that had us out on highway 40 to help out a friend in Eqaila. We was a terrible accident on 40; truck jacknifed and hit two cars. Traffic was totally gridlocked waiting for the ambulances and police to arrive. Folks, please be careful out there.
And please, mothers, fathers, protect your children. Anyone who doesn’t need to be on the roads should be at home. These kids, riding on the slick highways, barely visible, are taking a huge risk:
Internal Revenue Service Scam
This was in my mailbox this morning:
After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity
we have determined that you are eligible to receive
a tax refund under section 501(c) (3) of the
Internal Revenue Code. Tax refund value is $189.60.
Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 6-9 days
in order to IWP the data received.
If u don’t receive your refund within 9 business
days from the original IRS mailing date shown,
you can start a refund trace online.
If you distribute funds to other organization, your records must show wether
they are exempt under section 497 (c) (15). In cases where the recipient org.
is not exempt under section 497 (c) (15), you must have evidence the funds will
be used for section 497 (c) (15) purposes.
If you distribute fund to individuals, you should keep case histories showing
the recipient’s name and address; the purpose of the award; the maner of
section; and the realtionship of the recipient to any of your officers, directors,
trustees, members, or major contributors.
To access the form for your tax refund, please click here
This notification has been sent by the Internal Revenue Service,
a bureau of the Department of the Treasury.
Sincerely Yours,
John Stewart
Director, Exempt. Organization
Rulings and Agreements Letter
Internal Revenue Service
The IRS uses “u” for “you?”
An IRS e-mail signed by a real person?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Just another scam.
GQSSC – Hot on Her Heels – Q8Dutchie!
I don’t know why I find these photos so moving . . . so poignant . . . but I do! New contestant Q8Dutchie is close on the heels of our first entrant, Ansam, with these great sand and surf photos:
What I don’t understand, and what I marvel at, is why when we know the footprints are indented, do they look the opposite, as if they are coming out of the sand? It must be a trick of the shadows. Woo Hooo, Q8Dutchie!
Great Kuwait Sand and Surf Challenge – Our First Entry: Ansam
Mere minutes after the Great Kuwait Sand and Surf Challenge was launched, we had an entry.
Wooo HOOOO, Ansam, our very first entrant! And what a day at the beach this was. Can you guess my very favorite?
Ansam, you truly capture the joy of a day in sand and surf! (I LOVE the first photo!)
November 2, 2008 Sunrise
Finally – a day at home. I crave these days, I need these days. Introverts need quiet, reflective time to recharge, to find their inner balance. I plan a day of work, but work I love. I’ve cleaned and organized my workroom, and I yearn to get busy with my day’s goals.
Sunset was weird this morning – it had to get beyond the thick bands of cloud on the horizon before it could show – more like 6:20 than 6’ish.
Are those November colors, or what?
Here is the weather at 0800:
And here is the five day forecast (For those of you not living here, this is heaven in Kuwait):
Have a great day, Kuwait! 🙂
Thinking About Wealth
Today’s reading gives us a lot of food for thought about wealth and how we use it.
At one time, when I was still an Army wife, we had returned to the United States. We didn’t even have furniture – the military had provided it all our years overseas, and were in the process of picking up a few necessary things – like beds! All we had were some beautiful Oriental carpets, which we had picked up, piece by piece, as we were living overseas.
I would wake up at night and worry about thieves breaking in and stealing my carpets. Then I read Matthew 26: 19 – 21 – this verse:
19″Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
I stopped worrying about the carpets. I’ve never worried about them since.
Now, like others, we have watched all the monies we have carefully invested for our retirement dwindle, and it is hard not to despair. And here again, comes a reading to make it clear to us where our real wealth lies. Our “wealth” is only on paper – it doesn’t really exist until we buy or sell. Our real wealth is what we are storing, day by day, towards our next life.
This reading is from Forward Day by Day:
Luke 12:13-31. So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.
How often have you interrupted a preacher during a sermon? Probably never. In today’s story, a man interrupts Jesus while he is still preaching. Perhaps Jesus sniffed greed behind the man’s question as he responded with a parable about the right attitude to riches.
Advertisers try to convince us that good food, comfortable homes fitted with all modern conveniences, a healthy bank balance, and no financial worries are the stuff of which the good life is made. Jesus, who came that we may “have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10), warns that an abundance of possessions cannot secure for us this abundant life.
Yet there is no condemnation of riches. It is not because of riches that the man in the parable is labeled a fool, but because wealth, rather than God, took first place in his life. The rich man’s barns overflowed with perishable grain, but he was spiritually bankrupt, for he had failed to store up imperishable riches in heaven by wise and generous use of his wealth.
God’s concern is not ownership (what we have) but stewardship (what we do with what we have). To be truly rich, be rich towards God.
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Early Voting in Florida
