Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right ... and other lessons from childhood

I watched the impeachment hearings last week. I even had to listen to Sirius XM on the last day because I was on the road to Boerne, Texas, for a show. At one point, I was just moving along in cruise control mode on barely wet roads when all of a sudden, I lost control of my truck and trailer: The truck hydroplaned on the wet pavement and fish-tailed with my trailer. It is only by God's grace that I regained control.

While the moment scared the you-know-what out of me, I still felt annoyed that my listening was interrupted. As soon as I could, I drove to a stopping point to check everything out in the trailer. All was well, but still ... I missed valuable testimony! (But I caught up with it later.)

The fact is that I should have been paying attention while driving with my trailer in that weather, but I was enthralled with Fiona Hill's testimony. Wow! That brave woman is my hero!

Since the hearings, my thoughts have percolated to the point I finally had to write. Today, I submitted my letter to Sen. John Cornyn and Sen. Ted Cruz. While I believe my efforts have most likely been a futile attempt at change, I did it anyway.  And, obviously, I wrote this letter with the assumption that President Trump will be impeached.

So, I am sharing my letter, and I challenge anyone else who feels strongly about this most important event in our country to do the same.

(I realize fully that Facebook friends who oppose my views are likely to "unfriend" me; so be it.)

*****

Nov. 29, 2019

Dear Sens. Cornyn and Cruz: 

Like many other Americans, I am deeply concerned with what is happening to our country. I am reaching out and hoping beyond hope that you will hear me out and truly listen to what I am saying. 

I think first you need to know a little about who I am for perspective, though.  I am a 51-year-old white female who was born and raised in Amarillo, Texas. I am a married empty nester. I’ve worked since I was 15 years old, and I grew up in a family of farmers and teachers that always voted Republican. I tended to follow that ideology until about 20 years ago, but I’ve never voted a straight Democratic ticket.  I grew up as a middle class American, and now, my husband and I are neither wealthy nor poor, but we work hard. 

I’m telling you these things because I believe I represent most Americans who are neither far left nor far right. The problem is, however, that the loud “squeaky wheel” fanatics garner the most attention, and fanatics do not listen to other fanatics. We’re living in a most important time in history in which the squeaky wheel is squawking loudly in a frightening circle of senselessness. 

I watched the impeachment hearings (and listened while I drove eight hours on the last day) with great interest.  I’ve heard many people say the hearings were just a waste of time and tax-payers’ money, but I completely disagree. I have to wonder whether those saying that even watched the hearings. I learned things about the way our country operates in foreign affairs, as well as was reminded why America is important to countries such as the embattled Ukraine. I felt a measure of pride as I watched and learned, because in the middle of my own feelings of helplessness regarding President Trump’s behavior, I saw that other courageous Americans who are (were) in a position to make a true difference had spoken out about problems with Trump’s behavior and that maybe something would finally be done. Most important, I learned why the specific problem in Ukraine was so important, and that is Russia. 

Growing up, I was taught communism and Russia were to be feared, and I believe most Americans my age and older grew up knowing this. What has happened? Have we become complacent about Russia? Are we going to sit by and let Russian President Vladimir Putin continue to meddle in our business and weaken our country from within by dividing us? From my vantage point, he’s doing a frighteningly good job. 

Why (and how) are those who are opposed to Trump’s impeachment ignoring the testimonies of non-partisan Americans whose life’s work is foreign policy in Ukraine?  How can anyone ignore former NSC staffer Fiona Hill? Her impressive testimony was of only rock-solid intelligence and facts. She clearly tied the timeline of events together, which strengthened the testimonies of those before her. She boldly stated Ukraine’s importance to the United States and the dangers if Russia were to regain control of Ukraine. We cannot afford to ignore that, so why would we? Even more compelling about Fiona Hill is that she is an immigrant. She came here from England and became an American citizen because she believes in our great country and all it has to offer. 

And what about the passion, dedication and sacrifice of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, another American immigrant? I was touched by his testimony, his service to the United States and his willingness to stand up for this country he and his family chose. I’ve wondered whether those of us born here have become complacent, and I felt ashamed. We all should be fighting hard for this country and its commitment to world peace.  We should all be committed to doing the right thing, period.

Two issues could not be more evident to me at this point. 

One: Donald Trump should never have been elected president in the first place, and I believe most people understand that. I sincerely thought it was a joke when he first announced he would be running. First, where is his experience outside of the business world? Second, he is well-known as a dishonest, mean-spirited, selfish, misogynistic and narcissistic man, among other things. I will even go a step further and place him within the 4 percent of the population that is sociopathic. He is a man without conscience and will do anything to anyone and any country, including his own, that he believes will benefit him. 

Sadly, my own party contributed partly to the problem by giving the country Hillary Clinton as the democratic presidential candidate. While Clinton would have been an excellent and outstanding leader, in my opinion, years of Republican efforts to destroy her credibility did just that, and the Democrats should have understood this!  By the time Clinton could run, she had become someone who was either loved or hated, and that was too risky for a viable presidential candidate.  I have heard so many people say they didn’t really want to vote for Trump, but they saw Clinton as a worse choice. 

Both parties created this presidential fiasco named Donald Trump.  

Nothing can be done about this issue now, except that maybe we can all learn from it and do better next time.

Two:  We surely all learned as children that two wrongs don’t make a right. Nothing has changed, but the Republican and Democratic leaders of this country continue to up the ante with every counter act of, “They did it! We can, too!”

The latest and most obvious example of this is the TRUTH that Trump attempted to use a foreign leader to interfere in the 2020 U.S. elections.  But what do the Republicans do? They have tried to muddy the waters (i.e., deflect public attention from this truth) by raising debunked conspiracy theories and past perceived wrongs to somehow minimize the president’s clearly criminal behavior. 

Both parties have engaged in bad behavior since this country’s beginning. When we’re lucky, it gets addressed and handled; however, most often, as I stated earlier, someone ups the ante, and behavior gets worse; this is exactly where we are today.

I never could have imagined someone so dishonest, hateful, criminal — so sociopathic — could be elected as our president! And even worse, I could never have imagined that our system of checks and balances would allow him to behave so embarrassingly juvenile and horrifyingly corrupt. Instead, his behavior is being accepted as “the new normal” because people are afraid to stand up to him. Now that several respectable people have, stop being afraid! It’s time to listen and take care of the problem.

Several questions arise by your unwillingness to address Trump’s corruption:

1.     Are Republicans afraid Vice President Pence can’t step forward and do the job of the president, if even for only a little while? (That’s pretty ridiculous.)

2.     Are they afraid another Republican will never be elected if Trump gets ousted? That’s ridiculous, too.

3.     Are too many Republican leaders caught up in Trump’s dealings and are afraid for their own positions and reputations? (If that is the case, then get over it and do like the rest of us have to do: Take responsibility for your sins and mistakes, no matter the cost. You’ll survive and be better for it.) 

4.     Most likely: Are Republicans afraid to admit they’re wrong and lose power? If that is the case, then GET OVER IT! Now you can do what’s right and address it. If you don’t, this turmoil we are in and this division we’re experiencing only continues. BUT EVEN WORSE: Russian influence and power wins. We cannot afford this.

Donald Trump horrifies and disgusts me — I see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears. His alliance with Putin frightens me. Why doesn’t it you?

It’s past time for someone to step up and do the right thing, and the ball is now in your court, Republicans. I am begging you to do it. Convince your Republican peers to do the same, and let this country begin to heal. 

The birth of a redneck designer: Red brick floors can make a girl crazy (er)

I've been busy. I mean, really busy. I've been busy making myself crazier and crazier.

I've been painting cabinets and kitchens and furniture. I've been redecorating. In truth and fact, I'm not even a Martha Stewart type, and I've never aspired to be.

None of this was ever supposed to happen!

All I wanted was a new brick kitchen floor. That's it! I've wanted that for 14 years! But the floor turned into counter tops, which turned into backsplash that didn't work with the current cabinets like I imagined — so I antiqued those — and that turned into kitchen walls that didn't work ... so I repainted those, even though we had just repainted them two years earlier!

Everything has ridiculously snow-balled on me.

This pic isn't even close to the beginning, but what the heck? I'll start here. A few photos down, you will see the headboard Dorsey built (because he loves me) and that I painted. (Did I mention I found this headboard design at 3 a.m. one night when I couldn't sleep because I was stressed out by all of this unfinished business?) The headboard is not attached yet because Dorsey is a busy guy (and the fact that it's not attached is gnawing at me)! This is the guest room decoration I've settled on ... for now. :-) It's not quite country and it's not quite Victorian. It's just new old. And I still need to paint the window's original shutters white and which are currently green, which will end the current reign of the lacy curtains.

The top of the bookshelf, and the bookshelf. I've had this thing for 20 years, just plain pine. It's been in every room in the house, plus an apartment, a house and two apartments before that. Now it's part of my extended closet (behind my real closet and Dorsey's real closet in a space that's been everything from an office to a closet to a place for my mom when she was sick to a mom cave and back to a closet/office/mom cave of sorts.)

I bought the little server on the left for cheap ... because it would fit my current need for my current extended closet space. (It's filled with shoes, and other miscellaneous matter.) I don't like shabby chic, so I redid the piece in this green ... which will match the eventually newly painted sage green accent walls in my extended closet and bathroom. 

When I bricked the bathroom (because we had extra from the kitchen) floor, the coastal decor I settled on last year no longer seemed right, so I decided to make it look like the rest of the house is shaping up to be ... early American. Except ... all my other early American stuff does not allow for bright white, and I did NOT want to repaint the bathroom walls. We had just done it! So, I ordered a new shower curtain and some artwork, but it was all wrong. So I ordered a new shower curtain to match the darker hues of the new artwork. And then I realized if I put it up with the art work I had bought, I would have to repaint the walls because the stark white would clash. So ... to avoid that, I sent the second new shower curtain back and made my own checkerboards to keep the first new shower curtain. Now, I can maintain the bright white.  Except ... 

To keep the whole early American theme going, I have to change out the bathroom hardware ... which I have bought and am waiting installation by my very busy husband, which, like the headboard, gnaws at me. Next on the bathroom list is a new mirror and sconces. More country. For now, I've just darkened them. And my stomach is churning.

Dorsey built this headboard for the guest bedroom.

It took 7 steps to distress it with the blue underneath. My body is paying today for all the squatting and Twister-like positions such work required. 

I bought the cheap dresser pictured on the left for cheap. Again, I don't like shabby chic, personally, so, I painted, distressed and changed out the hardware of this chest of drawers for my extended closet space. The drawers are full of closet-like junk. Same with that book shelf, pictured above.

And in my extended closet is a special little space below the window, but it's also an awkward kind of area. In a continuing effort to maximize the space we have in the house (without knocking down any walls), plus find a place for all of the necessary junk I need on hand (bills to pay, business stuff to deal with before it all goes upstairs to the main office), I decided a desk would be best ... plus it allows the beer and Diet Coke fridge a space. I got the black desk for cheap and distressed it.  So why is everything black? Because, when Dorsey and I redid our bedroom and bathroom a few years ago, we painted the shutters and moulding and cabinets black. I'm not repainting all that! Not! Instead ... I'm going to later tackle distressing all that black ... to look like the three pieces of furniture I just added to the extended closet, and to go with the whole "my house is really old" theme. Do you see how this has all made me crazy!?

In the middle of everything, I decided — because it was so much fun the first time — I wanted to make more checkerboards ... and sell them. (Have you seen all the different "buy, sell, trade" groups on Facebook?)

All the of the above have been practice pieces (all the way to the very top of this blog) ... some of which I'm trying to sell ... on those FB groups, of course. And what am I practicing for? Why, the giant TV cabinet I have ordered from the Amish, of course. To go with the rest of the look of the house I'm trying to create. Of course. You see, I hate the look of the TV and all of the TV paraphernalia and junk. I want it covered up. I want it behind closed doors. So I sent the guy a picture of a cabinet we already have from the 1800s. It's been 12 weeks and gets here Friday. I'm painting it as best I can possibly do to make it look like a real antique. I doubt that will happen, but after all this, who can fault my effort? (Because in addition to all the pieces of furniture I've painted (and cabinets), I've painted/distressed and waxed little wooden blocks.)

Here's another crazy-making piece. Once upon a time, I painted this little TV stand red. For Jordie and me, when we lived in this little apartment I thought was so cute. (It was.) Jordie and Hart had that TV stand forever. In red. But when Mom and Dad died, and I wanted to redo that really dark and dingy room the boys each once had, I just had to create a room I thought Mom would like. I used one of her quilts. And I painted that TV stand to match it and the rest of the room. But then ... Jordie was going to visit way more often than I originally understood when I transformed the room from his high school stomping grounds to a guest room. The room, as I made it, was really feminine. I felt bad that Jordie would be in such a feminine room. So I got a different quilt (the room is staying bright, dangit!). And the newly painted TV stand no longer worked. So ... I redid it. Again. And you know what? I was never happy with any of the rugs I got for that room after I redid it. So I kept getting rid of them. (Those FB sales groups.) I landed on the one pictured at the top, and I LOVE that one. But ... the bed didn't have a headboard. You already saw that story. And while the room still might be slightly feminine, I think once I get those dang shutters painted and back in place, all will be right with my world. For now.

Last, and certainly not least ... here is the cheap little desk I bought for cheap to first start practicing for the great big important cabinet that's finally getting here on Friday. I painted this once gray desk with ugly hardware to go with my early American look and stick in the laundry room to replace the ugly, white utility table. After all the HGTV I had watched, I suddenly became unhappy (er) with my silly little laundry room with the nasty carpet and litter boxes. So ... while we were having the new brick floor installed there, too, I worked on that desk to replace the utility table.  It now holds light bulbs and paint brushes and sand paper. EVERYTHING IN THIS HOUSE NOW HAS A PLACE! 

But I'm not finished! The oh-so-important TV cabinet gets here Friday, and I leave Sunday for a two-week trip. When I get back, I will paint that ... and I will repaint the master bathroom, bedroom, and extended closet.

Because I'm crazy.

And just in case you think otherwise, none of this escapes me as being entirely first world privileged problems. 

No, I'm not really ashamed. I'm blessed. And it's an awesome escape from the insanity of our country's politics. 

Lost But Not Forgotten

When my dad was alive, he supported a far-reaching cause to Africa started by a man right here in Amarillo, called Lost But Not Forgotten.

This group of people take the message of Jesus Christ to remote, difficult-to-reach, difficult-to-find and dangerous-to-travel-to areas of Africa — the unreached. It is in Muslim territory.

I recommend that you go to the site and watch the video. It's interesting, but also inspiring to see the amount of danger these individuals put themselves in to spread the Gospel.

I recently spoke to the man who began this venture and agreed to "host" a table at the organization's very first fundraiser. I believe he said they've been around since 2005 or 2008? And now it's time to raise some funds.

Lost But Not Forgotten is having it's first-ever fundraiser on Nov. 8 at the Wyndham Hotel (used to be Ambassador). It's dinner, presentation, silent auction, etc. The table costs have been covered already, so if you were to come to the event, no one would be asking you to buy a ticket!

That's where I come in. As a table host, I have agreed to find six other people to share an eight-person table with me (and Dorsey) that evening.

I know Nov. 8 is a long way away, but please pencil it in on your calendar.  If you think you would like to join us, please let me know.

Please watch the video. It might make all the difference to you!

Let's get out of God's way

As much as I can bemoan aging, I can gratefully say this: Older means wiser. At least in my case. And more boldly confident. Not perfect, but progressing. Not fully knowledgable, but always learning. Keep that in mind as you read. (In other words, nowhere in this writing am I assuming myself to be perfect — past (especially) or present.)

According to a 2014 Pew Research Center study, 70.6 percent of Americans identified themselves as Christians in this country. That would mean the majority of Americans believe Jesus Christ is the son of God, and He came to die for our sins. That means we also believe in the Trinity — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

If you fit within that majority, stay with me. 

By reading and studying any of the Old Testament at all, we've figured out that human beings have proven themselves quite incapable of upholding any law of God perfectly — or even very well. In fact, humans in those days failed pretty miserably. (Maybe just like today?)

So that's where Christ came in. We, as humans, were so incapable that we needed God to help us out (save us). So He gave us Jesus, who came to this earth, lived as a human for 33 years and experienced exactly what it's like to live like we do; then He became sin for a short while (died on the cross; rose three days later), so that our sins would not condemn us anymore. 

By suffering crucifixion for us — by taking on our sin — Christ fulfilled the law of God — the law humans failed to to live up to — and placed us in a position of grace, mercy and forgiveness for our sins. Because He loved us. 

Thank God. 

And while Jesus lived on this earth, he taught us some very basic things. Not only did He teach us these things, He expects us to do our very best to follow Him and His teachings.

First and foremost, Jesus told us the two greatest commandments are these: from Matthew 22:37-40

“'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'"  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (italics mine)

All of the law (of Moses — i.e., 10 Commandments) hinges on loving God and loving one another. If we manage to focus our attention on loving to the best of our ability (and relying on God to help us), then all the law — all of God's commands and the "do's and don't's" fall into place. ALL of them. 

To me, that means the wisest and most efficient things I can attend to in my own life are loving God and loving you. If I truly love God, then I want to and will do what pleases Him. It means that if I love others (and remember, too, that love covers a multitude of sins), then I'm in this imperfect world living a life that produces the fruits of the Holy Spirit, which are these:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law." — Galatians 5:22-24

Have you seen these much lately? From the so-called majority of Christians in this country?

I haven't. As a majority in this country — a majority that is supposed to be loving, kind, good, gentle and self-controlled, we have failed. 

Fellow Christians, to "hate" a sin means to reject it, to turn from it, to not do it. Nowhere in the Bible does hating a sin mean viciously speaking toward another human being, calling people insulting or despicable names, condemning them or behaving in ways that harm them. 

Not anywhere.

And nowhere does the Bible place sins in a hierarchy. A sin is a sin is a sin is a sin. That means in light of recent events, hate and self-righteousness are just as bad as the other sin(s) we condemn. 

We need to get off our high horses of self-righteousness and recognize that our job as Christians is to spread the GOOD news of Jesus Christ. If it's good news, why the heck would we beat someone over the head with it? Why would we tell people horrible things about themselves, threaten them and try to force them to believe what we do? 

Jesus didn't do that. The disciples didn't do that.  If God gives us free will and a choice to accept or reject Him and/or His teachings, then we need to do the same. Hounding, harassing and hating is not part of the deal. 

Jesus simply, strongly and lovingly presented the Truth to unbelievers. Then He gave them the opportunity to choose whether or not to accept that truth and abide by that truth.

If a group of people rejected Jesus' teachings, He — and later the disciples — moved along to another group of people. If people accepted His teachings, Jesus and His disciples stayed awhile to nurture the faith of the new believers so that they, too, could grow stronger and spread the word. 

In love. 

But this love thing isn't just about "unbelievers;" it's about us — brothers and sisters in Christ, whom Jesus wants and prayed for (John 17:21) to be as one, to stand ONE with Him and with God — with God's Holy Spirit being the connecting key to doing just that. 

We're failing at that, too. We are condemning and criticizing one another for sinning within the Christian faith. We are self-righteous and put ourselves above others — again placing sin in some kind of hierarchy.  

We need to remember that we are not the ones who are supposed to convict one another of our sins. The Holy Spirit does that. And as the Holy Spirit does this, it guides us to a stronger life in Christ. This is a process and takes time. (And, please, let's let God do the judging.)

One of the coolest and most loving things about God is that He works with us from wherever we are spiritually. All of us are at different places in our faith, yet many of us try to force other Christians to be exactly where we are, because in our own minds, we're in a better, higher, more Godly place. 

Perhaps God should decide that. 

One thing I believe about God beyond a shadow of a doubt — because He loves us and understands us in all our weaknesses — is that because He knows our individual stories and the stories behind our stories, He is infinitely patient with us. He uses our lives, our experiences, our strengths, our weaknesses, and yes, our very sins, to get us where we need to be in Him.

As fellow Christians, we have got to get out of God's way! Instead, we need to be working alongside him; we need to be like Christ — producing those fruits of the Spirit. Be as gentle and encouraging with someone entangled in sin or in some deep, dark hole or untruth of life as God is. Do with others what you would have them to do with you.

Remember, God gives Christians choices, too. And time, thankfully. He doesn't harass us. He isn't mean to us. Neither should we harass or be hateful to one another. 

Christians, we need to repent. We need to reevaluate our actions. We need to take our own inventories, instead of everyone else's. 

As a majority in this country, while we have been busy tearing one another apart, we also have been quite busy tearing this country apart. 

Is that what we want? Is that what God wants?