SelahV Today by hariette petersen

WARNING! THERE MAY BE A KILLER IN YOUR ATTIC

Forget cholesterol, french fries and McDonald's Happy Meals!  That is the least of our worries.  Forget recalls on China's toys.  Let's talk the EPA and how their silence about Zonolite is murdering milliions as I type these words.

Read the horrendous story and pass it on to others.  This is not about old men who work in mines for years.  This is not about insulation lying untouched in the attic.  This is about deadly fibers throughout millions of homes that affect every technician, electrician, and person who has ever climbed into an attic to install a wire, or collect the Christmas ornaments.  Please read this article.  Your baby's life is at stake.  This asbestos ladened, and Zonolite filled insulation has been installed in attics and walls from the 1940's to the 1990's.

Did you read that?  As late as the 1990's.  That's houses we are living in and purchasing today.  That's buildings we frequent.

Most doctors do not even explore what could be causing all the lung problems that affect patients today.  Is it really second-hand smoke?

It makes me wonder.

How many of our schools and churches are filled with this insulation?  How many of our children are at risk?

CLICK HERE AND READ THIS STORY today, then email everyone you know...it may save your grandchildren's lives.  Our government should be ashamed for not emphasizing this to the unsuspecting American public.  It's outrageous.  More so than macaroni and cheese being served in school lunches.  selahV

The link above is only Part One of a FOUR-PART story of this situation. 

CALL FOR PRAYER AND CHARITY BOOKSALE

[UPDATE: God is soooo good.  No longer need any donations.  Please keep praying for Allan's situation and if you want to purchase any of the books on my list, they are still for sale]

 I've told you about my brother, Allan.  His lung cancer is contained in the one lung.  He will decide this Thursday what treatment to do for it--surgery, radiation or chemo.  Please pray for him because any of these are going to be extremely difficult. He is 6'1 and weighs only 110 pounds.  He cannot stand to lose weight, so I don't know what they will decide.

His inability to breathe qualified him for 24-hour oxygen. He has 50-feet of tubing so he can get around the house when necessary. He spends his days, alone, in his bedroom. Occasionally he gets up to make a little meal and let his Labrador and German shepherd outside.  He lives in Connecticut, a two-day minimum trip by car for me (which I cannot take due to my back problems, even if I had the money to go, which I don't).

Herein lies the need and burden I have.

I want to get him a laptop computer so he and I can converse on-line and also, so he can Google and blog and play with it.  I am going to sell books to pay for it and the router and stuff needed to connect him to the world wide websites.  If you see a book you would like to purchase (from the list I will post soon in my left sidebar and keep updated), please let me know and I'll get it out to you. Just email me at selahvtoday@ aol.com. For the most part, these books are brand new.  I get some in exchange for devotional writing I do.

Of course, I shouldn't be proud...so I come to you with great humility asking if you'd care to make a small donation (I realize the economy is rough on everyone), I'd be so very grateful, and would pray down heavy-duty blessings upon you for your generosity.

If you have a book or two that you could sell on your own website for Allan and share some of the proceeds, that would be super, too.

For now, I am offering the following books for sale:

FOOL MOON rising, by Kristi and T. Lively Flaherty...a hard-back illustrated children's book about Pride, with scientific details in the back.  Retails for 14.99; I have SIX of these for 9.00 each and FREE shipping. BRAND NEW.

MANLEY BEASLEY, Man of Faith--Instrument of Revival, a biography of sorts by Ron Owens.  Retails for and I have one for 7.00 and 2.00 shipping. EX. COND.

the Jesus Storybook Bible, A hardback children's illustrated bible/book by Sally Lloyd-Jones; retails for 21.99;...I have one of these for 10.00 and 2.00 shipping. BRAND NEW.

HEAVEN IS FOR REAL, by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent, retails for 16.99 and I have one I read for a review which I offer for 6.00 and 2.00 shipping.  Excellent condition.

WHOSOEVER WILL by David Allen and Steve Lemke; retails for 24.99; I have one for 10.00 and 2.00 shipping.  BRAND NEW.

PLEASING GOD, by RC Sproul, (paperback) retails for 9.99, Have one for 4.00 and 2.00 shipping  GOOD COND.

THE SOUL'S QUEST FOR GOD, by RC Sproul; hardback, retails for ??? selling for 5.00 plus 2.00 shipping.  NEW

LORD, IS IT WARFARE? TEACH ME TO STAND, by Kay Arthur; paperback; retails for 13.99; selling for 5.00 plus 2.00 shipping.  NEW. 

A HANDBOOK FOR MINISTERS' WIVES, by Dorothy Kelley Patterson; hardback; retails for 16.99; selling for 5.00 plus 2.00 shipping.  NEW.

OSWALD CHAMBERS Abandoned to God; by David McCasland; hardback; The Life Story of the Author of MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST; retails for ??? selling for 6.00 plus 2.00 shipping.  NEW.

MORE TO COME...selahV

          

WHEN THE DEVIL SPINS A TALE

...HE USES SCRIPTURE.  In the Garden with Eve, in the wilderness with Jesus...in life with us.  He has minions.  We do not struggle against flesh and blood but with the powers of darkness...and some people are being used of Satan at this very moment.

Some people have a way of taking the most positive of testimonies and turning it into something negative and sordid.  They can cast doubt where none exists. They trash Biblical faith with twisted lies and half-truths.  They implant innuendo and falsehood into the minds of innocents, and further confound the confused.

They tell children to practice safe-sex rather than to remain celibate till they marry.

They tell children that family is not what it use to be--it's obsolete--and can be anything we make it in the eyes of God.

They write colorful books, produce comical movies, and implant ungodly ways into the mind of young and old, alike, as to what is right and wrong in the eyes of God.

They extol science as gospel and theory as fact.

They entice the masses with tales of prosperity and pie-in-the-sky blessings.

They seduce with power, status, and indulgence.

They spin webs so full of temptation and deception that the wisest among us can be caught in their grasp for a season. 

They teach that all people are God's children when He only adopts those who believe in Him, trust in His Son, and live by His commands.  

The devil can turn quite a tale when he has such minions amongst us.

Beware of false teachers, my friends.  In the end times there will be many of them.  Do not be led astray by false doctrines and half-baked messages with diluted truths.

Only Jesus saves, only Jesus recreates a lost and dying person into a saved and living one.  Only Jesus casts out the darkness--He is the Light and the Way and the Truth.  No one comes to the Father except through Him.  Heaven is a beautiful place, prepared for those who believe in Him and trust in Him and follow His commands.  Narrow is the gate and few will find it because so many follow the crowds of deception and self-satisfaction.  Be one with Jesus today.  His Sheep shall hear His voice, and all other voices are but clanging cymbals.  selahV

MY SHEEP WILL HEAR MY VOICE

HEAVEN IS FOR REAL

WHEN THE DEVIL DANCES

CANCER and My Brother

So, Allan called me today.  "It's cancer," he said.

That would be bad enough in itself, but his emphysema and COPD leaves him with lungs operating at about 28%. He can barely walk to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, or bowl of soup without having a coughing episode.  Walking to the mailbox to get his morning paper is a long arduous journey.  I don't know what the immediate future holds for my brother as far as treatment, options, and prognosis.  Even the most treatable of cancers will involve risks for him to consider.  I ask one thing of you, my faithful readers:

Please pray for those around him to show compassion and concern and mercy.  That's all I ask--that his last days and months are filled with some people who care about how he feels.  Thanks so much.  selahV

WHILE OTHERS SLEEP...

I WRITE. I don't question why I am awake; I just write. I've always been a bit of an insomniac.  Many nights I'm able to sleep just fine--others find me tip-tapping away at all hours.  Since I became a Christian, I consider writing a ministry--sometimes it ministers to others, sometimes to me. Sometimes I write articles, sometimes emails. Sometimes I write prayers to God. I never know quite what my muse will do with me.

Years ago, I took a writing course with James Cox back in Kentucky; he was the Managing Editor of the Western Recorder newspaper then.  Cox emphasized something about writing that has stayed with me ever since.  He said that writing is not simply about being published.  Some of the most meaningful writing we ever do is personal letters of encouragement.  People need encouragement. They need to connect with another. If it were not so, there would not be such compelling popularity for social networking: Face-Book, Twitter, My-Space, Chat-rooms and personal blogs.

Therefore I write to fill a void.  Occasionally the Lord has someone email me who has been deeply moved by the words I trust the Father in Heaven gives me to share on any given day.  Sometimes folks say it is exactly what they needed to hear.  Sometimes they request prayer.  Sometimes we meet on top of a mountain and share the glory of God's grace and power and exchange a much needed hug.  Whatever brings folks my way, I count myself blessed and each reader the blessing.

I know that others hurt, others need encouragement and comfort and inspiration.  I think most people are just like me.  They face challenges, difficulties, grief, loss, criticism, and failure.  I know how those things feel and how God has pulled me from their binding strangulation.  Though I do not pretend to say my way is the best way, or only way, to deal with trials; I do say that I know a way.  And hopefully as we share our hearts, bear our burdens, confess our failures, admit our weaknesses, the Lord will use our humility to guide and strengthen others.

Yesterday, a blogging friend from the blue ,did just that for me.  It's an amazing thing.  Something for which I praise my Father in Heaven.  But also, I am grateful she took the time to let me know I was on her mind and lifted me up to our Father.  A tiny thing.  Writing.  Amazing what it does for others at times, don't you think?  selahV

 

 

 

SOMETIMES LIFE WEARS YOU OUT

This gives new meaning to the phrase: "sleeping like a baby," don't you think?

Sometimes I wish I were this able--when 2 a.m. gives birth to ideas, inspiration...or worry.  It would be so nice to simply bend over my laptop and drop.  Drop the quandries, the fresh new phrase--the heartaches and burdens and just turn off the lights of my mind.

Oh, Lord, let me rest in Thee and release the difficulties, the challenges, the anxiety, the grief...and even the tantalizing excitement this life offers.  Release me from those things which seek to rob me of bodily rest, of spiritual calm, of mental clarity.  For those kindred spirits who share my plight, I pray for deeper sleep, for greater restoration of joy and hope in daily moments of fatigue.  Thank You for the grace to meet this new day with new mercies for what is ahead.  selahV

DISAGREEMENTS

Every day I hear them, witness them, am even a part of them.  Disagreements exist because people have opposing viewpoints, perspectives, ideologies, and agendas.  People find all kinds of things in life to rebuke and rebuff.  I've found that just because one person disagrees and says "I believe", that does not automatically negate or devalue the point of another.  It simply means one person disagrees.  In some cases, a majority of people will agree with the person who disagrees with another.  A majority does not necessarily make things anymore credible because it collects more folks to agree with their position.  Look at the mob who cried, "Crucify him!  Crucify him!"

Evolutionists disagree with the Biblical creation account.  Millions of people agree with Darwin's theory of evolution.  Does that make the Bible untrue?  No.  It makes a group of people believe what they want to believe based on the information they have and their desire to believe it.  Professors disagree.  Scientists and doctors disagree.  Judges disagree.  Parents disagree.  Politicians and constituents disagree.  Preachers, theologians, and Christians disagree.

We each have to come to a point in our lives wherein we make a decision and choose what and who we believe in all life choices.  Ultimately, we live with our own individual choices.

Me?  I choose to believe the Bible, and I filter all information through it.  I use its principles, commands, and directions as my guide, along with the Holy Spirit who lives within me.  For things I do not understand, situations or dilemnas, I go as far ahead as I can see and leave the rest to faith.   

The Bible tells us that to come to Jesus, one first has to believe God--that God is, was, and will always be.  Those who will not believe, but trust in their own goodness, will not join a minority group of people who believe in Jesus.  God knew that from the beginning.  He knew the majority of people would cling to their own selfish ways and desires and choose to live in an ungodly way forever.  He knew that once man ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that the majority would choose evil over good--self-satisfaction over godliness. God knew the vast majority of people would never come to Him, would reject Him, and would ignore His Word.

Nevertheless...

"...God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosover believes in Him will have everlasting life." John 3:16  Humanity has hope.  That hope is in Christ.  The majority can disagree all it wants, it cannot change God, no matter how many words they use, or how many people collect to voice those words.  selahV

IS THE BLOOD SUFFICIENT TO SAVE? Part Three

Nothing has had a greater impact upon my life than the transforming power of Jesus Christ in my soul.  It is a total mystery to me how Christ did what He did inside my heart, my mind, my body and soul that would take a self-centered, self-motivated, vile and disgusting person who lived her life contrary to all things godly, and created desires that were the direct opposite of what she was one minute to what those desires were in the next minute.  I will never be able to adequately explain what happened in my life as a result of Jesus...but the impact of His presence in my life was as creative and life-producing as the moment God entered Mary through His Holy Spirit and gave life to His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with Us.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it as C.B. answers his critics and continues to explain the Sufficiency of Christ's Blood in the act of salvation for humanity:

III. The Impact Of Christ's Blood

The shed blood of Christ in his death on the cross has tremendous power (impact) and brings to the repentance, believing sinner numerous benefits-blessings, including redemption. Three words in the Greek N.T. expresses this truth: (1) agorazo - to purchase in the marketplace, Gal. 3:13, where the figure is that of a Roman slave market. The subjects of redemption are sold under sin (Rom. 7:14) and under sentence of death (Rom. 5:12). The purchase price of the sinful "slave" is the blood of Christ who dies in the sinner's stead (Rev. 5:9). (2) The second word is exagorazo - to purchase out of the market place(Gal. 3:13). Purchased by His blood, believers are never again exposed to sale, being eternally secure (Jn. 10:28-29). (3) The third word is lutroo - to loose - to set free by the payment of a price (I Pet. 1:18-19). Through Christ's ransom payment, we are forever loosed - set free from sin's power. Thus, the blood "shall never lose its power."

The second impact of the blood of Christ is righteousness ((Rom. 3:25) "..... through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness..." Through the merit of Christ's blood, the repentance sinner is declared righteous - justified - in Christ (I Cor. 1:30). The same passage (Rom 3:25) also indicates that there is complete remission (forgiveness) of sin (Eph. 1:7), with the slate wiped clear with regard to the believer's eternal position in Christ. This total remission is again based solely upon Christ's blood (Heb. 9:22)

The blood also brings reconciliation - the reuniting of God and man (Col. 1:20-22, Eph. 2:16), a relationship that had been severed by man's sin (Eph. 2:14), plus reception ("accepted in the beloved" - Eph.1:6) - accession to God's presence by the "blood of Jesus" (Heb. 10:19).

The final impact of the blood of Christ is the bringing of rejoicing to the believer's heart ("..we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have received the atonement" - Rom. 5:11). The believer can now joyfully sing "Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb."

I am sure you can spend the rest of your life finding additional evidence to the fact that the Blood of Christ is sufficient of itself to wash away our sins.

I will place Phil. 2:8 before you also. If you take this one verse and exegete it, you will find ample evidence to be able to joyfully sing:

"WHAT CAN WASH AWAY MY SINS? NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS.
WHAT CAN MAKE ME WHOLE AGAIN? NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS...."

You have every right to say "He died on the cross but it isn't the cross itself that is our focus." You do not have to focus on the cross if you have no desire to do so. Yet, I think I shall "focus" on the cross. I shall even "glory" in the cross. I shall even "boast" of the cross. And...I think I shall be in good company in doing so. Paul did:

 "But may it never be that I would boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Gal. 6:14)

"For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." (1 Cor. 2:2)

Here are a couple more passages for you to ponder in answer to the question you asked me about the Blood of Christ as it relates to our salvation:

"Remember that you were at one time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and stranger to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without Christ in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST." (Eph. 2:12-13 emphasis mine)

"For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having MADE PEACE THROUGH THE BLOOD OF HIS CROSS; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. (Col. 1:19-20 Emphasis mine)

It is the Blood of the Cross that rids us of our sin. I hope you never forget that, for that shall sustain you in the darkest of days."  CB Scott

Is the Blood Sufficient to Save? Part One

Is the Blood Sufficient to Save? Part Two

IS THE BLOOD SUFFICIENT TO SAVE? Part Two

I tend to identify with folks who think like me, don't you?  I also tend to identify with stories in the Bible that speak to specific situations I have, or I am going through.  When I spend a great deal of time writing an article, or painting a landscape, or developing a ministry, I tend to see it as putting my blood, sweat and tears into that particular project.  When I sacrifice my time, my finances, my priorities to build a relationship with someone, I tend to consider giving my all to such a relationship.  Such is the following portion of how the "blood" of Christ helps us to identify with the sacrifice Christ gave for our salvation in CB Scott's second portion of the sufficiency of Christ's blood shed for the sin of humanity:

"II. The Identity Of The Blood Of Christ

Blood has frequently been shed in human history, often in religious causes. The trail of human history is a trail of blood. The dust of the centuries is soaked with blood spilled upon its surface, in religious crusades. The troughs of the ancient Aztec Indians were filled with blood spilled in the name of religion. One of the bloodiest crimes in human history was the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day (August 24, 1572), when 100,000 people were mercilessly slaughtered in human blood through religious fanaticism.

In a positive way, the blood of Christian martyr's soaked the godless dust of ancient empires and simmered in the fires set by despotic rulers. But none of the above blood could ever cleanse and obliterate sin because it was defective, impure blood, the wrong blood. Divine redemption required that the blood which could forgive - cleanse sin - meet the Biblical standard, that it be of a certain nature - essence.

The blood of Christ was (1) sacred blood. It was the blood of perfect man - the God Man. (Jn. 1:1,14), the lamb of God (Jn. 1:29). Since Christ alone was perfect God and perfect Man (Phil. 2:5-8), He alone was qualified to give His blood as the atonement for sin.

Christ's blood was also (2) sinless blood. His blood was like a lamb without spot or blemish (I Pet. 1:18-19). All other human blood has been tainted by the corruption of sin resulting from Adam's fall (Rom. 5:12, I Cor. 15:22), but the blood of Christ contained none of the sinful corruption which permeated all other humanity. When Judas Iscariot betrayed the Lord Jesus he knew that he was betraying "innocent blood" (Matt. 27:4).

The consequence of man's sin is both spiritual and physical death (Rom. 6:23; Heb. 9:27). It was through the blood of Adam (man) that original sin was and is transmitted, not the woman (I Tim. 2:14). All human beings, with one exception, are the ultimate product of Adam's sinful seed. Christ is the only individual in Scripture who is designated as the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15). The bloodline thus runs through the male, not the female, in divine revelation.

All the blood in the human embryo is formed by itself and solely through the contribution of the male parent (No blood ever passes in the embryo from the mother to child). Our Saviour, however, did not have a human father as progenitor; he was born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14). The blood that flowed in Christ's veins was thus contributed by a Holy God (Matt. 1:22-23), resulting in a "Virgin Birth " and a Saviour with a sinless human nature. Dr. A.W. Pink rightly stated in his commentary that "in becoming man, Christ did not partake of the foul poison which sin has introduced into the human constitution. His humanity was not contaminated by the virus of the fall."

Christ's blood was also (3) substitutionary blood (II Cor. 5:21; I Pet. 2:24; Isa. 53-5,6), that is, it was offered in our place, in our stead. A substitute is an individual who takes someone's place when they are either unable to appear or unqualified to act. The blood of Christ was (4) sacrificial blood (Jn 3:16) for it cost the Father something - it cost Him everything, the sacrifice of His only Begotten Son. At Calvary, God separated Himself from His Son, in order that we might never be separated from Him.

The blood of Jesus was (5) sufficient blood (Rom. 3:24-25). The Father set forth His Son to be a "propitiation" (satisfaction) for our sins. This blood was shed once for all (Heb. 1:3; 10:12). In the blood sacrifice of Christ, poured out from a sinless nature, the righteous nature and demands of a holy God were perfectly satisfied. At Calvary, righteousness and peace truly kissed each other (Ps. 85:10). The songwriter was never more correct than when he wrote "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; sin hath left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow." In view of Christ's sufficient, completed atoning sacrifice through His blood, the repeated sacrifice of the Roman Mass is the depth of religious blasphemy. Christ truly "has redeemed us once for all."

What a blessing to know that Christ's blood is also (6) shielding blood. In Eph. 6:18, the believer is exhorted to take the shield of faith. This shield of faith is the shield in Christ's atoning blood. When Satan brings the skeletons out of our past and accuses the believer concerning his former life, the saint can always successfully plead the blood of his great high priest intercessor (Heb. 7:25). Our Lord thus saves us "completely," even from the insinuations and accusations of our arch-enemy the devil.

On a tragic note, however, Christ's blood is (7) slighted blood (Heb. 10:28,29). In those verses, the writer clearly indicates that those who reject the blood of the new covenant (testament-agreement) do despite to the "Spirit of Grace." The Holy Spirit is God's divine agent for (a) convicting of sin, (b) convincing of Saviour and (c) converting to salvation (Jn. 16:8-11). When the sinner resists the wooing work of the Holy Spirit, he is thus closing the door of hope on the only means whereby Christ's blood can cleanse and set him free."

HERE'S WHERE CB gets an answer from one of the commenters:

"I believe that Christ had to die in the manner he did because he had to be lifted up. He had to die, shedding blood in a sacrificial way to fulfill the prophetic significance of the OT.  Again, it's not the literal blood that washes away our sin, it's Christ himself. It's his death, burial and resurrection. He died on the cross but it isn't the cross itself that is our focus."

Part three to follow with CB's answer.  To read Part One click HERE.

IS THE BLOOD SUFFICIENT TO SAVE? Part One

What importance does the "blood" of Jesus have in our salvation?  What is the significance?  Are we not saved by grace through faith? 

Well over a year ago, a blogging-friend of mine, CB Scott, was debating the importance of the "blood" after he'd entered a stream of comments discussing how little the blood of Jesus is preached or talked about in today's churches.  I copied the entire conversation at the time, because I wanted to keep his answers.  He summarizes and gives scripture passages to read to help clarify his points--that indeed, the blood has not lost its power.  (The internet post where this was originally discussed has since been removed).  I offer it here because I think it's invaluable for someone who needs to explain the importance of the blood of Christ--and the power it holds for Christians.  Therefore, here is Part One of what Scott said:

"What is the evidence of the sufficiency of the Blood of Christ to save us from our sins?

Begin reading here. You will be able to find much more on your own.

I. The Importance Of The Blood Of Christ

There is a blood line that stretches throughout the entire breadth of inspired scripture. From outside the gates of Eden in Genesis 4 to inside the gates of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:22, the Bible is filled with the importance of the blood with regard to salvation.

When God clothed Adam and Eve after they had sinned in Genesis 3, it was in the skin of an animal whose blood had been shed. When Abel offered an acceptable sacrifice to God in Genesis 4, it was the sacrifice of a lamb whose blood had been shed. When Isaac was about to die on Mt. Moriah in Genesis 22, it was the blood of a substitute ram that saved his life. When the death angel passed over Egypt in Exodus 11, it was the sprinkled blood over the doorposts that saved the Israelites. Regardless of whether it was the consecration of a priest, the birth of a son, the deepest penitence due to sin, or the highest religious festival, the way to fellowship with God in the O.T, was through the shedding of blood.

In the N.T., the same principle applies. What the O.T. portrays through picture and figures, the N.T. presents in person and fact. Paul, in his inspired epistle (Rom. 3:24-25), Peter, in his infallible writing (I Peter 1:2), and John, in his inerrant script (I John 1:7), all present the importance of the Blood of Christ. The final book of the Bible emphasizes the same theme: Rev. 1:5, "washed us from our sins in his own blood,' 5:9, "redeemed us to God by thy blood,"and 12:11, "overcame him by the blood of the Lamb."

Everywhere one travels through the Scripture, he will find one dominant theme: salvation by the blood and the blood alone. All hope of heaven and forgiveness of sin is based upon the shed blood of Christ in his death on the cross. Heb. 9:22, "..and without shedding of blood is no remission."  CB Scott, August 20, 2009

Part Two and Part Three will follow in separate posts. 

IF SHE WAS PRESIDENT...

Six-year-old Haylee crawled up into my lap today.  She is very concerned these days about our president.  She wants to know how much longer before we get a new one.  She must have been giving it a lot of thought because she asked, "Grama, can a girl be president?" 

"When she grows up, yes she can."

"If I was president, I have some decisions I would make."

"Really?  What would you do if you were president?"

"I'd make everybody be nice and not make fun of people like that man on television."

I won't tell you who the man on television was.  Suffice it to say, he probably wouldn't even have flinched at the child's reproof.  She's always coming up with questions about politicians and I wondered what had sparked the latest interest.  Then I remembered; she went with her mother to the polls on Tuesday and watched her vote.  Haylee must have been reading my mind when she asked, "Did you vote for the government, Grama?"

"Yes, I did.  What else would you do if you were president, Haylee?"

"I'd build a wall around the United States like the one in China.  It has been there a very long time, and it would keep all the bad men out of here.  Don't you think it would?"

"It might."

"Is that a good idea?"

"I think it is better than some I've been hearing, baby.  Much better."

She wasn't happy the other day when she saw a story about a town that wouldn't let some children sell pumpkins without a license.  "It's their pumpkins, Grama, why can't they sell them?"

I haven't told her about the legislators who are trying to eliminate home-schooling.  Nor have I informed her about the latest initiatives to replace french fries for carrots and prohibiting toys in Happy Meals.  If I did, I think she'd be dictating an email for me to send to the knotheads in San Francisco.  How dare they!

If I were McDonald's and Burger King, I'd pack up my burgers and fries and head for the city limits.  No wonder California businesses are pulling up stakes and relocating in Texas.  When politicians can dictate a restaurant's menu, prohibition has found new meaning.  selahV