In case you didn’t know, Tony Snow served as Press Secretary for President George W. Bush and was a wonderful man. No, I certainly didn’t know him, but felt as though I did and really enjoyed his contributions to Fox News over the years. He was so much more than an American Political Commentator, TV Newsman, and speech writer for President George H.W. Bush.  Well, he passed away recently and someone sent me the below article I wanted each of you to think about…he wrote it and I find it wonderfully amazing…how about you?

‘Blessings arrive in unexpected packages,
- in my case, cancer.
Those of us with potentially fatal diseases
- and there are millions in America today -
find ourselves in the odd position of coping with our mortality
while trying to fathom God’s will.
Although it would be the height of presumption
to declare with confidence ‘What It All Means,’
Scripture provides powerful hints and consolations.

The first is that we shouldn’t spend too much time
trying to answer the ‘why’ questions:
Why me?
Why must people suffer?
Why can’t someone else get sick?
We can’t answer such things,
and the questions themselves
often are designed more to express our anguish
than to solicit an answer.

I don’t know why I have cancer, and I don’t much care.
It is what it is, a plain and indisputable fact.
Yet even while staring into a mirror darkly,
great and stunning truths began to take shape.
Our maladies define a central feature of our existence:
We are fallen.
We are imperfect.
Our bodies give out.

But, despite this, - or because of it, -
God offers the possibility of salvation and grace.
We don’t know how the narrative of our lives will end,
but we get to choose how to use the interval
between now
and the moment we meet our Creator face-to-face.

Second, we need to get past the anxiety.
The mere thought of dying
can send adrenaline flooding through your system.
A dizzy, unfocused panic seizes you.
Your heart thumps; your head swims.
You think of nothingness and swoon.
You fear partings;
you worry about the impact on family and friends.
You fidget and get nowhere.

To regain footing, remember that we were born not into death,
but into life - and that the journey continues
after we have finished our days on this earth.
We accept this on faith,
but that faith is nourished by a conviction
that stirs even within many non-believing hearts
- an institution that the gift of life, once given,
cannot be taken away.
Those who have been stricken
enjoy the special privilege of being able to fight
with their might, main, and faith
to live fully, richly, exuberantly
- no matter how their days may be numbered.

Third, we can open our eyes and hearts.
God relishes surprise.
We want lives of simple, predictable ease,
- smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see, -
but God likes to go off-road.
He provokes us with twists and turns.
He places us in predicaments
that seem to defy our endurance and comprehension
- and yet don’t.
By His love and grace, we persevere.
The challenges that make our hearts leap
and stomachs churn
invariably strengthen our faith
and grant measures of wisdom and joy
we would not experience otherwise.

‘You Have Been Called’.
Picture yourself in a hospital bed.
The fog of anesthesia has begun to wear away.
A doctor stands at your feet,
a loved one holds your hand at the side.
‘It’s cancer,’ the healer announces.

The natural reaction is to turn to God
and ask him to serve as a cosmic Santa.
‘Dear God, make it all go away.
Make everything simpler.’
But another voice whispers: ‘You have been called.’
Your quandary has drawn you closer to God,
closer to those you love,
closer to the issues that matter,
- and has dragged into insignificance
the banal concerns
that occupy our ‘normal time.’

There’s another kind of response,
although usually short-lived,
an inexplicable shudder of excitement

Whatever you call it, it HURTS!

Tell you what…call it what you will…tell us the economic times we’re in right now is a situation, correction, a slump, a down-turn…call it whatever you like. But, let me tell you…while the economists and politicians are working on some stupid politically correct term for it…many are hurting! Some in MY family! Bet yours as well!

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says “Whether it’s a technical recession or not is not all that relevant. It’s clearly the case that for a variety of reasons families are facing hardship.”

In his semi-annual monetary policy testimony he cited numerous difficulties. Included among them…the ongoing strains in financial markets, declining house prices, a softening labor market, and rising prices of oil, food, and some other commodities.
We’re hurting! I have seen first hand people who have lost their job, in the midst of losing their homes, and in fear every time the phone rings that it will be a bill collector. Times are hard.
Gas and food are at the highest prices ever! I use diesel and pay almost 5 dollars a gallon. Think about upcoming fuel, natural gas, heating oil, and electricity prices for the colder months…MAN! I have a loved one with no insurance, no job and no way of paying for health care. Thank God they have family that pull together and care for those needs. They are WE don’t ask for and expect Government to help!

Employment is tough to come by and I’m very concerned about that! The dollar is not strong, the under-statement of the year! Inflationary pressures hurt consumers and Americans far more than low growth. Wall Street is nuts now! How’s your portfolio…or how would it be if you had one?

What drives me crazier than normal is that there are some who say…” the time is good for us…what American’s need…it’s cleansing the excesses and Americans are realizing that they will have to live a more austere life.” IDIOTS!

Give me a break! Excesses like what??? Food for the family, gas for a car to get to work if you have work to get to…no, not all of us can WALK or BIKE to the job! Excesses like medicine for life-threatening conditions or money for putting a roof over our head. To heck with wealth building…let’s worry about surviving! That’s what MANY Americans are going through right now. Just because you may not be, pray you never will..it’s not something I wish on anyone, but I have seen for myself how hardships are hurting more and more.
God Bless America, that is our only hope!

Lisa

Get over it!! That’s my advice to NAACP leaders who say they will step up their campaign against flying of the Confederate flag anywhere on state grounds in South Carolina.Okay, we moved it from atop the Statehouse dome in 2000 to the Confederate Soldier Monument on the grounds and that’s not enough! Thus, the boycott, which has been in place for a number of years…and aren’t we suffering terribly from that! RIGHT!

The latest…Dennis Courtland Hayes, interim president and CEO, says the Civil rights organization is working on action plans and that we should stay tuned for details.

The NAACP and other critics call the flag a symbol of slavery and racism. Its defenders call it an emblem of Southern pride and heritage.

The problem is that we caved in the first place and removed it! Some people will NEVER be satisfied…if they were, they would have no job!

NAACP…let’s see, that stands for The National Association against Caucasian People, right?