I've been reading the Gospels lately and the words of Christ are cutting through me like a divisive sword. One of the truths is realizing how Christ places everything at a level where no one can possibly attain it. In Luke, Christ tells the cost of following him. Luke writes,

As they were walking along the road , a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go."Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go bury my father."Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the Kingdom of God." Still another said, "I will follow you Lord; but first let me go back and say good-bye to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hands to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

As I read and reread this passage as well as the rich young ruler and became honest with myself, I realized I would bury my dead, I would say good-bye before I left, and I do not know if I could handle not having a place to call home. Conviction...

Too often, I am like Peter, who professes, "We left all we had to follow you!" And Christ's response, "I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come, eternal life."

Honestly, I still haven't left my family, my husband or child.

To often, I am like the Pharisee who places a yoke on another and weighs them down with burdens they are not fit to carry. Maybe I can follow Christ by faith in that he will provide, but who am I to place this burden on another who is not ready or is still wounded?

Isn't God more concerned with mercy and justice, the lost and scattered than works and sacrifice?

He says, "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone." Conviction...


I am not worthy! I am not even fit to wipe your feet. Have mercy on me Son of David!

My grace is sufficient...

Saturday night, stopped in at the Rocky Mt. Elk Foundation annual dinner in Milan. (There are also chapter dinners in Macomb, which husband Chuck and I attended recently, and in Lomax--among others!)

Regional Director Don has been a regular on this tour, as he always is; and was good to invite our attendance.

Talked with some old friends and met some new ones. I may not want to hunt an elk or an exotic animal myself, but I'll defend to the end your right to your weapon. It's the 2nd Amendment to our Constitution; and it's there for a reason.

Went on to Quincy and got in on the halfway point of a BIG birthday bash for Dave Nuessen, thrown by wife Adria. Dave was our campaign co-coordinator in 2004 and served Quincy twice as mayor. Dave was good to introduce me to the crowd--I told him he's getting birthday parties and political events mixed up!

Stayed in Quincy overnight at the home of Adams County Treasurer Jean Reddington and her family. Accompanied Jean to church the next morning and saw Bob and Anne Mays, good friends in Quincy--and met many of THEIR friends and fellow church-goers. Always widening that circle.....!

Ended with Sunday dinner by invitation of Virginia DeMoss at the new Curtis Creek retirement complex in Quincy.

Gotta go--headed to a meeting in Cambridge, in Henry County, to update the Republican Central Committee there on this campaign. ALWAYS a pleasure!

Remember our State of the Union viewing party tomorrow night in Macomb! Starts at 7:00 pm at the Parkside Sports Bar and Grill. Afterward we'll review the President's address. I'm especially interested in his agenda for health care reform, as I strongly believe health care and availability of coverage is the #1 issue which Congress should be addressing, and isn't. Tell me you don't know someone (and there's a good chance that "someone" is YOU) who struggles with having affordable health insurance, or any at all. For the employer, it has gone from A business cost, to THE business cost. For the employee, it becomes an ever-worsening situation, with higher cost shares and, often, constantly shifting insurers. And that hurts all of us.

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