Pride and Shame

I was thinking about it earlier today, and I've come to realize why I'm so invested in this election business. It's not a partisan issue, really. It's not an issue of liberals vs. conservatives.

I simply can't remember a point in my life where I've been able to be proud of my government. I've never had a president to look up to. Clinton did great things economically, but turned out to be morally vapid. Bush did his thing and ended up murdering hundreds of thousands of American soldiers and Iraqi civilians alike because of the lies he told.

Maybe I don't hate America. Maybe I don't hate Republicans.
Maybe I just want people to live up to their potential.
Maybe I don't want to be defined by a government who can't ever seem to get things right.

I truly believe that there are issues being discussed in this election which have the potential, if realized and acted upon, to make us proud again.

I can't help but get a sinking feeling in my stomach, though, when I play out in my mind the next few months. I'm hoping for something more while preparing myself for the emptiness of what I've always experienced.

Please pray for the next four years.

Stay Gold,

MMK

Don't call it a comeback.

I looked at this just now and realized that I haven't written on here in, like, forever. I've been pretty busy lately, though, so I suppose that the silence is somewhat justified. Having a career takes up a lot of one's time and energy. So it goes.

I'm in the midst of hall director training right now ans so I'm learning all about running a residence hall here at the University of New Hampshire. I wouldn't say that the training is too difficult or that it's been frightening at all. On the other hand, it's served to affirm the choice I made to work on this campus. It's nothing revolutionary or unknown to me. I've done this work before. I am pleased to be learning, though, that it seems that I'll be working for a department and with people who reflect the type of professional I would like to be.

Sarah wrote in her last entry that we moved into our apartment last week. I promise that we will take some pictures and upload them soon. I know that there are those of you amongst our readership who would love to see the place that we call home. We're still waiting on a couple of maintenance projects to be completed before our place is "done," so we will get pictures up once those projects are finished.

I bought a 42" TV last week and it's glorious. High definition television makes me want to be a better person. I wish high definition television was my dad, that's how much I love it. (Just kidding, actual Dad, I'm just trying to prove a point.)

I am going to be participating in a fantasy football pool with a couple of other hall directors this fall, so I've been doing research lately about which players I'd like to draft for my team. This is my first real excursion into the realm of fantasy football, so I hope it goes well. And by "well" I mean that I hope I don't suck it up big time.

Albums I've been listening to lately:
Public Enemy - "Power to the People and The Beats"
The Warriors - "Genuine Sense of Outrage"
Alli Rogers - "The Day of Small Things"

The Olympics have been fun to watch this past week, though I feel kind of dirty for cheering so heartily for America. There's nothing like a little blind nationalism every couple of years to keep you feeling like you're better than the rest of the world.

"Hey, I wonder what's the story behind that athlete from Zimbabwe..."
"Who cares! Stars and stripes and white people, fuck yeaaaaaaa!"

So it goes!

I think maybe I will go to bed now. I've decided to put a temporary gag order on myself from talking too much about politics here. I don't think Sarah always appreciates how, um, passionate (some might say "angry") I get when I'm discussing my hopes for the future of our nation. I think some other people might agree with her.

"If you're not angry, you're not paying attention."
"Anger is a gift."

Somethings to think about.

Stay Gold, everyone.

MMK

guess what?!

We are in our new apartment!!!
The apartment is still a mess, but being in our home feels great.
My friend Adrienne visited this past weekend. YAY!
The female American gymnasts aren't doing so hot. Sad.
But........
Marshall has his big screen TV...perfect for watching the Olympics!
We've been looking at plane tickets for the holiday trip home...
and they are extremely expensive...I'm not sure how we are going to swing it. Also sad.
I love soda and eating a crap ton of cereal...
I am in love my husband.
We both have been rather stressed and at times take our emotions out on each other.
We need to stop that...well, probably me, more than him.
I'll work on it dear.
I love you husband, I do, I do, I doooohooooo.

Changing

The Father accepts us where we are, not where we'd like to be. What we are and what we are not.

God is an agent of change, though He is also fundamentally unfailingly static and permanent. He does not change, but He makes it possible for us to change.

If the purpose of life is to gain knowledge of the Father, then life can be simply described as a process of growing in god. We live to change for Him in a way that brings His essence to the forefront of our personality.

If we trust God, we also need to trust in the process that is knowing God. If we fail or fall short in life, it is because we have neglected this trust. The process of knowing God begins and ends in every moment in which we choose Him before all other things.

We can have no self-agency free from the influence of the agency of God the Father in and from whom all things are made possible.

That's what I think.

Stay Gold.

MMK