The Future of Earth

Space exploration will be a pivotal point in the future. It will enable us to travel across the universe, so that when we ruin Earth - if we do, we will have a home.  So there will be times when we achieve a goal that will take us one step closer to unlocking the vastness of space. Jeff Bezos said he will start offering flights to space in 2017. One ticket will cost $1.5 million. Also in the 2020's humans might return to the moon and establish a base there.
But there are some limitations to our future. We must think about the economy. For example, America owes $14 trillion in debt. But there is a solution to debt: an International Bank. And so I have a proposition for a "Committee of  Nations".

PROPOSITION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PEACE

All nations must swear to peace.

All nations* must deposit ALL their money into an International Bank.

*Nations owing debt must pay 10% of their debt to the IB.

The International Bank donates money to the International Space Agency(ISA).

A nation may borrow money for a national project.

State income will pay debt.

Citizens will pay 7.5% of their taxes to the state, 2% to the county, 0.3% to the town, and 0.2% to the neighborhood.
                                                                                             
Finally we must think about peace. But of course the IFOP covers that.

The Lord is my strength

"Somewhere in your head, you still think of yourself in these terms: cherished, loved, encouraged, acknowledged, accepted, protected, worthy, wanted, or abandoned, rejected, put down, criticized, judged, unwanted.

And He speaks a new word, and avails a new work.My daughter. My son. And the work of our healing begins."

Tessa Afshar speaks those words in Ann Voskamp's blog that I read every week.  It's about Jesus taking care of our deep sadness over father wounds.  I'm glad she also says it's "work" to heal and it's a process.  I help people who come to me for counseling deal with their pain from the past and the present. So much sadness in relationships, but also beauty and hope.  We are driven to intimacy with others.  It was designed that way from the maker. Yet, we don't seem to be able to get it right.

I have father wounds; can identify more with the words rejected, put down, criticized, and judged, than cherished and accepted.  And that has consequences for my relationships. I often dish out a heaping serving of criticism with my declarations of love and acceptance to those I was given to raise.  But I want to get it right; use these moments with my children for their good.  To build them up, and not tear them down.  

Bringing up children is hard work, and I get tired so quickly.  Thus my quest to find a source of new strength in Him.  It hasn't worked yet, but I won't give up.

Isaiah 40:29 - 31 He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. Even youth will become exhausted, and young men and women will give up. But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

The history of Star Wars

A looooooooooooooong time ago . . . in a galaxy far, far away . . .
Daaaa da da daa da daaaaaaaa . . . Ok never mind. So this is the actual history of the Star Wars galaxy.  About 13 billion years ago (right after the Universe began), a galaxy formed. And for a looooooooong time there were thousands of races, but every planet only had one race each. Until they all found something. So they worked on organizing a meeting on a planet called Coruscant. They discussed something they had discovered. They called it "The Force". They decided that because they had met on Coruscant, it would be the home of the Jedi who are the keepers of the force. So the Jedi Temple (including the Jedi Academy, Holocron Collection, Jedi Archives, and the meeting place for the Jedi) was built there. But some Jedi discovered a new part of The Force. Therefore, they broke off and traveled to the planet Sith. There they studied "The Dark Side". They were called The Sith because of the planet they lived on. They then worked on a Civilization for the Sith. They also created the "Sith Rule of Two".
The dark side was unknown for a long time. The Sith also had a Civil War which was interrupted by an important event. During the Sith Civil War, some merchants found the Sith. They befriended a Sith named Naga-Saki. They left, promising him help in his war. But they had lied. Instead, they became Jedi, built the Republic, and sent troops to destroy Naga-Saki. When the troops arrived, Naga-Saki thought they were reinforcements. But they destroyed him. The other Sith leader escaped though, and trained Darth Plaguies and Darth Venoumous.  About two decades later, Plaguies killed his master and Venoumous. Plauguies then captured a Jedi and made him a Sith who was named Darth Evan. But Evan turned to the good side, and nearly killed Plaugies. So Plaguies suited up in a black cape and a black metal suit, and trained Darth Sidious. Sidious went on to lead the Republic, trained Darth Vader, and made the Empire. And the rest is in Episodes 4-9 of Star Wars.
Hopefully, at the end, the galaxy will finally return to a peaceful state.  And I hope our world will follow suit.

Psalm 136

Looking for a Bible passage today to go with my feeling of thanks.  Is is good to give thanks to God, so we are told. And I do believe it and tell people to try it as a discipline. Lots to be thankful about today: almost last Wednesday of quiet and peace in the morning before summer; no cavities for all 4 of us who went to the dentist yesterday and today; organic produce from Aldi and Hagn doz vanilla ice cream with honey and walnuts; a calmer period in my marriage after some crippling storms just a few weeks ago; kids doing well in school and a teacher so willing to help with the not so well parts; a photo of the children in Bavarian clothes from the homeland that hasn't been home in 30 years; my boy who announces that he wants to spend the summer reading, writing, and thinking; not so little girls anymore willing to give the still-not-being-able-to-swim problem one more try; and the sunshine today.
So I find Psalm 136 and it causes mixed emotions. His mercy and love endureth forever, yet only to the Israelites and not their enemy. On which side am I ? I want to give thanks this moment, but know that I will be grumbling at God before the day is over! How fickle I am in my faith and my character. I am so silly to believe that I can just avoid praying for God's will, so the seemingly bad that comes with the good won't happen. Like I have any control over my life by using strategies to keep God from reaching in to this life that he gave.
That's where I am today: thankful and holding back.

Triumph for Feste

Thank you Feste supporters. I just received news that 41 people looked at our post about the campaign. That is about 0.02% of the vote  - not to put hopes down. But it is good news saying our campaign is growing! We have people looking at this post across the nation, and even in Germany!!! And I owe all of this to my mom who put my campaign on Facebook, and that is when many people looked at it. So I will put her as one of our campaign managers.
Now that the Front runners have secured their nominations, Feste is moving on to debating Trump and Clinton. At this moment, I'm watching a controversy between Trump and a reporter. It seems they still haven't settled things, which isn't a first for Trump. The Feste campaign announced it's economic ideas today. We will be compromising between Democrats and Republicans. Because democrats mainly support socialism and Republicans support capitalism, a compromise is needed between capitalism and socialism. The compromise is that every citizen should be required to at least once in their life time supply any amount of money, time, or resources to a charity. If a citizen isn't able to, they will receive these gifts. I also need to say personally to Feste - if he is reading this - I'm trying to get the campaign as public as possible and promising good ideas to fix our nation.
Thank you supporters! Down and out.

Always a bit on the edge of despair

As a mom it's hard to feel good about yourself. So many slip ups, so many not good enoughs, which are magnified by those little eyes watching, absorbing, and eventually playing back to you in their own behaviors.
Trying to start a new chapter today. Of reading just a very small chunk of Scripture to fill the despair with hope.
"Though our hearts are filled with sins, you forgive them all. What joy for those you choose to bring near, those who live in your holy courts. What joy awaits us inside your holy temple."

FESTE 4 PREZ

We are running out of hope. After Cruz and Kasich fell out, there are only 3 candidates left: Clinton, Trump, and Sanders. Trump is a tyrant, Clinton will destroy our economy. Sanders is a good guy, but we need a variety of good candidates. Therefore we need Feste: Feste was born in Illyria, a Greek country. He was a fool (jester) to the Countess Olivia, and was a character in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. He is very smart, pulling off many tricks on Olivia and Malvolio. After Super Tuesday, he announced his candidacy. His campaign formed the "Twelfth Party", which Feste represents.  He won every primary and caucus he entered. I then endorsed him and hosted the Twelfth Party Convention. He won his party's nomination and now campaigns across the nation debating other front runners and meeting voters. This summer the Chicago Shakespeare theatre will show Twelfth Night in parks on select nights, and Feste will be there to promote his ideas after the show.  So VOTE 4 FESTE! : )