thirtyoneblog

I couldn’t let as historic a day as today pass without noting what’s in my head at the moment. I was at work and unable to watch the entire day’s events, but I did peek into a conference room that had a TV at one point and saw Rick Warren’s prayer, the oaths, and part of Obama’s speech. I am more at peace than I had thought I might be, and more optimistic than I had thought I could be.

I hope that he can deliver all that he has promised to do, although I feel that it would be naive to think that he can. There are a lot of people who poured their heart and soul (and votes!) into lofty thoughts and dreams over the last two years. Some of those dreams will happen, but those of us who are realistic know that the promises probably far outweigh what will be accomplished.

That’s not altogether a terrible thing, because hope and faith can breed positive results. But it has to be tempered with realism and judging from many, many comments out there, lots of people are way beyond realism. All they know is “Yes We Can.” Well, “yes we can” what exactly?

I am happy that today the rest of the world thinks positive things about the U.S., but I am sad that we put so much emphasis on what other people think. (There will probably be a whole other post about that). While we all have to live in this world, we shouldn’t feel obligated to steer in the direction of what others approve of. This is our country, our needs, our priorities. Yes, I care about our relationships with other nations, but I care more about our doing what is right.

I am apprehensive about the economy. I vote Republican almost always, but I am at heart a fiscal Republican, not a social one. Well, that’s not entirely true. I lean right on social issues, but I do not vote that way if other issues don’t line up for me. I am at heart a capitalist, and I believe that we all have opportunities to make great things for ourselves. The government does us no favors by removing the motivation to succeed on one’s own merits. I don’t want something for nothing. I want to earn it. I’ve been well-off and I’ve been dirt poor. I didn’t get to be either of those because of someone else. My own decisions and actions determined my result. I think that’s good enough for everyone. I’ve watched people talk about how with Obama as President, they won’t have to worry about finances anymore. That scares the daylights out of me.

But I will say this: I have reservations which are founded in my own beliefs and principles clashing with what is now our leadership. But he is still my President. I don’t care what he does that I will disagree with and I’m sure there will be plenty. He is still my President, and deserves my prayerful support. He’ll get it. And I have heard nothing but the same sentiment expressed throughout my conservative circle and beyond. I’m proud to say the next 4 (8?) years will be different than the last 8 in precisely that way. We’re taking the high road, and this country will be better because of it.

It’s not “stewardess.” It’s flight attendant

It’s not “secretary.” It’s assistant (Some of them are particular about being called “executive coordinator” but I think that might be a little much. I have an assistant, but I am not an executive, and I don’t need coordinating.).

And for heaven’s sake, a tax return is your Form 1040. A tax refund is what you get back that you should have gotten a year ago if you had withheld less. (But that is another post). Seriously, every spring I go insane hearing people talk about how they hope to get a big tax return. I always want to come back with a smart remark like “Are you printing on legal size paper?”

I don’t understand why that is so often some kind of oxymoron. Why are so many Christians apparently so against taking care of the earth? Oughtn’t we to appreciate and take care of the awesome creation that God provided for us? This is one of the aspects of organized religion (I hate that term, but it’s in certain churches where you see these objections), and for that matter politics, that truly baffles me.

Isn’t reducing, reusing and recycling being good stewards of our resources that God has blessed us with? Isn’t eating foods without garbage added to them taking care of our bodies, which are Christ’s workmanship? I’m not someone for whom organic fruits/veggies are a major requirement, but I do buy them sometimes, and regardless I appreciate the purpose. I have started buying only grass-fed beef and free range eggs, but that is more because I am an animal lover and if I am going to eat animals, I prefer that they have been treated humanely. My husband teased me about buying the meat and said I was becoming a liberal (entirely tongue in cheek, I assure you) and I told him, “aren’t Republicans allowed to eat well too?”

Evidently some people object to environmentalism because in their minds, it distracts Christians from our calling, which is to help lead others to Christ. What kind of sense does that make! That’s like saying I shouldn’t spend time at my job, earning a living, because it distracts me from all the time I could spend sharing Christ. Are we really that one-dimensional? We can’t make small efforts to protect the earth because that might prevent us from sharing the gospel? Considering how little “effort” most of these efforts really take, that’s truly ridiculous. Instead of throwing a bottle or can in the trash, I throw it in the recycling bin (Really took a lot of time out of my day for that one!). Instead of picking up a carton of regular eggs, I pick up the carton right next to it of free range eggs. (Wow, if I only hadn’t done that, I could really have made a difference for Jesus).

This is one of the areas in which Christians are seen by non-believers as just being loony and ridiculous. You know what? I think they’re right! What’s the upside of destroying the earth as fast as humanly possible? (Go on and say it – nothing).

OK, now that the season is all but over (and a sad exit it was for my team, for sure!), I can get into what has been brewing in my head for some time…College football playoffs.

In a word (or a few words) – I’m not in favor of it. Well, I take that back. I’m not against the theory, but since no one has figured out a way to make it happen that’s better than the current BCS system, I’m thinking that what we’ve got is better than what we used to have.

We used to rely solely on polls and sure as shooting, two (or more) teams would seem equally deserving and we’d have a national emergency on our hands over who really won the national championship. Currently, at the very least the #1 and #2 teams play each other, which is a step up from the pre-BCS days.

Everyone wants to cry and moan about how the BCS stinks, but nobody has a solution. And there are plenty of reasons there is no solution. Some of them, like the fact that it would unreasonably lengthen the season and the fact that the bowl system is a cash cow no one can politically touch with a pole, are good but not very meaningful to me. The biggest reason, to me, is that just like the imperfect BCS system, deserving teams would get the shaft and lesser teams would jump ahead of them and get a chance.

Some say that’s good and preserves the “Cinderella” aspect that’s always present in basketball playoffs. While I can appreciate that argument, it doesn’t trump the simple logic that if a playoff is supposed to determine the best team, shouldn’t the best teams be part of the playoff?

While the BCS relies on statistics, it includes a lot of factors that are meaningful in a team’s overall season. I’d rather see a team ranked high who lost a game or two but had strength of schedule, than an undefeated team who didn’t play anybody. And I’ve certainly seen enough decrying of successful teams’ records who had no strength of schedule, to know that I’m not the only person who cares about the issue.

And honestly, so much of the objection to the BCS is by those who considered themselves shafted through their own personal bias. Hey, I’m not knocking bias – we’ve all got it and I do too. But I really do think that if I hear “45-35″ from a Longhorn one more time, I might go postal on someone. Yes, Texas beat OU. But Tech beat Texas. But OU beat Tech. But……And on we go. I really don’t see the logic in the argument that Texas deserved a shot at the Big XII championship by virtue of the fact that they won the head to head against OU. Because head to head doesn’t mean a hill of beans in a 3 way tie. That’s what “3 way tie” means.

Personally, I’m not a fan of the Big XII championship game at all. This year, there was a lot of moaning over how Missouri played for the conference title, but the fact was that Tech, OU and Texas beat every North division team they played, so the same situation would have presented itself regardless of who ultimately won the North or what kind of tiebreaker was used in the South.

If someone presents a truly workable playoff solution, one that doesn’t take a whole other semester and includes deserving teams while leaving out lesser ones (including champions of inferior conferences who despite winning locally, can’t compete on a national level), then I’d love to hear about it. Until then, I’ll respect that the BCS makes at least some level of sense and is the best solution the power that be have been able to implement thus far.

I’ve had a few other entries on this general subject, here and here, and recently read some great additional thoughts on the subject.

Check out these articles on “Is Being a Stay-At Home Dad a Sin?” Part I and Part II

Some of the better thoughts in there:

- It’s OK to sacrifice one’s desires for the good of family (i.e. if a mom would prefer to SAH but decides to work because she can better provide financially, that’s a decision that’s OK to make and is overall best for the family).

- If people use Titus 2:5 (“keepers at home”) to justify the notion that women should not WOH, then they have to also use 1 Tim. 3:4-5 (“should manage his own household’”) to say that men should also not WOH. Doesn’t make much sense when you look at it that way, does it?

- Proverbs 31, which is often used to describe the ideal Christian woman, has an awful lot of references of women working.

- The notion of a working dad and SAH mom is more modern than Biblical. In Biblical times, “working” involved the whole family contributing to the livelihood. Even a hundred years ago and even today on farms, everybody jumped in. There was no “one provider.”

This is exactly the kind of article I love to read. I want to find more of these; this guy rocks.