historic inauguration day

Today is a very historic day! Here in America we are all going to be watching the inauguration (a word that ironically enough caused me to win the 3rd grade spelling bee... i was the only one who could spell it in the whole class... it's called PHONICS people) of our first ever African American president. 

THAT's pretty awesome. I'm pretty excited. Coverage starts at 10AM and goes til like 5PM & it's probably gonna be on every channel. & then there's the big party tonight at 8 I think. Somewhere in there THE Andy Stanley is praying for the new president. I hope that's on TV.

Anyway, some guys I like have written some good advice lately for all of you out there who don't agree with line up exactly with Obama's political affiliation and find it hard to be excited today. Thankfully I have no political affiliation so I need no help getting excited. But some of you do, so please read the words of these 2 wise men and enjoy today... it will go down in history!

This first paragraph is from a guy I love to read and listen to named Greg Boyd. You've probably never heard of him. If you have heard of him it's likely you've heard his name in the same sentence with the word "heretic". People like to throw that word around. I on the other hand don't like to use it much. I try to reserve it for people who say they love Jesus, but are racists or are in favor of killing innocent humans or don't even LOVE.

Anyway, I enjoy reading what he has to say. He's definitely smarter and knows the Scriptures better than most who call him the "h" word. But whatever you think of him you'll be able to appreciate this:

"The heart of King’s dream wasn’t about racial equality. It was about racial equality only because it was first and foremost about a society in which love prevails and that recognizes the insanity of hatred, oppression and violence. And while America has certainly made important strides toward racial equality – as evidenced by Obama’s

 presidency – it seems to me that we have not progressed one iota toward the ideal of non-violence. If anything, it seems we’ve gone backwards in recent years on this ideal...

All politics aside, I think everyone should be elated for what Obama’s election means for non-whites and for race relations in America

. And we definitely have King to thank for this...

Be that as it may, I encourage followers of Jesus not to forget about the heart of King’s dream. For, before the call to loving non-violence was givin by King, it was given and modeled by the King of all Kings. The heart of King’s dream is the heart of the King’s dream and thus must be the heart of our

 commitment to live in the way of the King."

You can read his whole article written for MLK day HERE.

And this next one is more to the point and for you die hard Republican peeps who just can't be happy today as you watch history in the making. It's written by a man I have great respect for - Dan Burrell. 

He used to be my pastor, boss, and mentor... and is still a good friend. He's probably the most politically conservative dude I've ever met & not a supporter of Obama's beliefs (to say the least & evidenced by his latest post)... All that to say that if he can find a way to be happy this day, then so can you. (he wrote this the day after the election):

"I am not looking for my Prozac this morning.  I am not booking flights to some other country.  I am not pouting like the pigs just ate my toy poodle.  I’m quite happy this morning.  And I’ve got plenty of reasons to be happy in spite of the way the election turned out yesterday.  Let me share a few…

1. I’m happy for my African-American friends.  Seriously.  Thrilled for them.  I don’t know of a single black friend of mine who didn’t vote for Obama (though there may be a few, but you don’t have to justify your vote to me or anyone else.)  I don’t understand how they could vote for someone who, in many cases, represents values that I know they don’t believe or practice.  But I do understand that I don’t understand and can’t understand what the election of an African-American means to them on a deeply personal level.  And because I understand that I don’t understand, I’m quite content to be happy that it means something very special to them.  I am excited that every person of color now has a legitimate reason to believe that when they grow up, they can aspire to any job in this country and know that it is within their grasp.  That is a colossal shift and one that’s long over-due.  That makes me happy."

And I agree. This is a big day for our country. I keep thinking that there are a whole bunch of people today who were in their 20s in 1960 and COULD NEVER HAVE EVEN IMAGINED THIS DAY. and now it's reality.