I visited a lot of wonderful places. I have been to Washington DC, Maryland, Delaware.
Fellow patriots in Arizona invited me to join them for a rally in Phoenix. Patriot Movement AZ is awesome. They have also offered us support here in California. I am sure that we will be seeing a lot more of them going forward.
Yet starting out in Phoenix, when I went in with other Trump supporters to protest the two Democratic Congressman from Southern Arizona, I was removed from the theater and trespasssed!
YIKES! In Arizona, private proprietors have a right to collect your information to prevent you from entering ever again. Indeed, the owners of the Orpheum Theater took it very seriously not to permit any disturbance or protest.
This is not fair, in that public officials should face their opponents and critics, not just run to their ardent supporters to push one lie after another.
At any rate, I was really displeased with what happened to me. I wanted to see "Weekend at" Bernie Sanders. For the rest of the day, I couldn't shake my outrage about having to leave. At that point, I began to wonder how effective all this disruptive activism had really become. Was it the best use of my time? At all?!
From there, other fights broke out in California. SB 54 had passed, but local jurisdictions were taking a stand, refusing to comply with the unjust and unconstitutional overreach of the state against federal law and constitutional rule. Even the federal courts in California are undermining their oaths of office.
Since mid-March, I have partnered with citizens in the various cities as well as attending county board meetings to stop SB 54, to get more elected officials on record opposing that terrible law. At the last tally, 46 jurisdictions have opted out in some fashion. Thirteen counties had gone on record opposing SB 54, too.
It's been quite a blast.
But just as Saul Alinksy warned his potential acolytes that "an effort that drags on becomes a drag", so too has the activism I have engaged in. It's becoming a real drag. The freelance work is not paying off as much as I would like it to.
Then something else happened. A friend of mine, an activist who taught me a lot about how to be effective, is moving out of the area, too. This person has been fighting the good fight for a long time. At this point, though, this person has quality of life issues to consider. There are the other increasing demands which need to be considered. Family life, personal choices, moving on--all of this comes into play.
So, there's the continued interest in seeking another career, a new walk of life for myself, too.
At first, I was so reticent, so unwilling to seek another career. I didn't want to miss out on other events. I was so concerned that I would have an unpleasant time balancing the work life and then having to return to the "humdrum" life.
The fact is, however, that activism has become humdrum. I want to get back into the regular work-a-day life.
The last job I had, I worked at a marketing firm. It was a great job because I wrote and edited articles, I researched topics and prepared speeches and talks for my employer. It was a real blast.
That's the kind of work I would like to keep doing. So far, though, nothing in that time frame has emerged. It's been going pretty easy for me up to now. I have gotten away with "working" as a freelancer. Today, I am done with it all.
A sense of relief swept over me when I decided that I no longer want to all this activism. The tension over finding work and finding my way in the world is gone. I don't feel forlorn or pessimistic about leaving behind everything that I have been doing up to now. From the Mother of All Rallies event to the Berkeley insanity, to my discussions and confrontations with college students at UCLA, UCI, and Cal State Fullerton, I have found so much to be hopeful for.
Another thing that had been holding me back all this time. I saw all of these problems in front of me. I had no car. I had no serious and consistent source of income. Then I was paralyzed about not being able to find meaningful work again. It seemed to me that with this cluster of problems, I didn't or couldn't fix one problem to correct another.
Little did I realize until now that I can start working on one issue, and then the answer to all the other problems will fall into place, too. Ruth the Moabitess was as down on her luck as one could get. She was widowed, orphaned, and estranged. In spite of these terrible setbacks, she pleaded with her mother-in-law Naomi to let her go with her to Israel, to Bethlehem particularly.
Ruth didn't sit around feeling sorry for herself. She got out there, she looked for any field where she could begin gleaning. Unlike some, she did not despise small beginnings. Unfortunately, I was one of these individuals. I wanted to have all my problems solved: good career, better car, a sense of the future. God has answered all these concerns. He has prepared the way: "He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." (Psalm 23:3)
I reread Joshua Chapter 3, too. The Israelites had passed through the Red Sea a generation ago. They survived the wilderness in spite of the harsh weather and the marauding, hostile tribes around them. For forty years, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, unable to get anywhere. Then they finally came to the border, at the Jordan River. A new generation of faithful Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land.
But they had to cross the River Jordan first. Unlike with the Red Sea, in which Moses took out his staff to split the sea in two, the priests with the Ark of the Covenant had to step into the river first. As soon as the placed their feet in the river, the waters stopped to allow the nation of Israel to cross over:
Here is God's command:
"13And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap." (Joshua 3:13)
And here's specifically what happened:
"And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; 15And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) 16That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho." (Joshua 3:14-16)
Notice that the priests just barely touched the brim. That's the least amount of action, the least amount of faith, that God is seeking from us.
He merely asks that we respond to His Goodness. He has provided all things to me. It's up to me to believe on Him and receive from Him. I was so hesitant, in part because I had had the perfect job. I also wanted to have some idea about where I was going and what was going to happen. My father and I had talked about this issue a few times.
He reminded me about Abraham, as recorded in the Book of Hebrews:
"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." (Hebrews 11:8)
In biblical numerology, 11 stands for chaos, transgression, and judgment.
8 represents new beginnings.
So, Abram left his country, his kith and kin to a new land, to receive great promises from God.
The disorder of idolatry gave way to the new beginnings of God's grace and blessings. He didn't know where he was going, but he know the God who was leading him. I had gotten a little down in the dumps about where I was going. I had this strange sense that nothing was happening, and then I wondered if I would ever find something more suitable, more worthwhile to what I was doing and wanted to keep doing.
I don't have to have my whole life figured out today. I don't need to know what steps to take going forward into the next year or the next five years, even. I may not know what the future holds, but I do know who holds the future.
Besides getting back into the job circuit, a sense of relief has retaken me. I don't feel compelled to go these public demonstration events anymore. More people, more everyday citizens need to take a stand against the corrupt, overbearing governments in their cities and their states. There comes a point in which elected officials see the same faces, hear the same arguments, and therefore they have no interest or inclination to listen to their arguments. How many more cities can I visit?
People who usually do not go to city council meetings, but then start going to the same meetings--they now have the power to make a difference. What matters above all is that I can inspire others to get out there and make a difference. That's far more important than receive the attention and praise of others for having made a difference.
For a long time, I felt that if I didn't step up and out if I didn't go to the city council meetings and make noise, if I wasn't showing up to these events--then nothing would happen. What a crock! Life goes on, more people are waking up, more people are fighting back against the anti-life, anti-family, anti-American follies like never before. I have done my part, as have many other people. The world does not rest on my shoulders, nor on any one person for that matter.
"Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." (1 Kings 19:18)
See you soon, everyone. The fight is on!
It's been quite a blast.
But just as Saul Alinksy warned his potential acolytes that "an effort that drags on becomes a drag", so too has the activism I have engaged in. It's becoming a real drag. The freelance work is not paying off as much as I would like it to.
Then something else happened. A friend of mine, an activist who taught me a lot about how to be effective, is moving out of the area, too. This person has been fighting the good fight for a long time. At this point, though, this person has quality of life issues to consider. There are the other increasing demands which need to be considered. Family life, personal choices, moving on--all of this comes into play.
So, there's the continued interest in seeking another career, a new walk of life for myself, too.
At first, I was so reticent, so unwilling to seek another career. I didn't want to miss out on other events. I was so concerned that I would have an unpleasant time balancing the work life and then having to return to the "humdrum" life.
The fact is, however, that activism has become humdrum. I want to get back into the regular work-a-day life.
The last job I had, I worked at a marketing firm. It was a great job because I wrote and edited articles, I researched topics and prepared speeches and talks for my employer. It was a real blast.
That's the kind of work I would like to keep doing. So far, though, nothing in that time frame has emerged. It's been going pretty easy for me up to now. I have gotten away with "working" as a freelancer. Today, I am done with it all.
A sense of relief swept over me when I decided that I no longer want to all this activism. The tension over finding work and finding my way in the world is gone. I don't feel forlorn or pessimistic about leaving behind everything that I have been doing up to now. From the Mother of All Rallies event to the Berkeley insanity, to my discussions and confrontations with college students at UCLA, UCI, and Cal State Fullerton, I have found so much to be hopeful for.
Another thing that had been holding me back all this time. I saw all of these problems in front of me. I had no car. I had no serious and consistent source of income. Then I was paralyzed about not being able to find meaningful work again. It seemed to me that with this cluster of problems, I didn't or couldn't fix one problem to correct another.
Little did I realize until now that I can start working on one issue, and then the answer to all the other problems will fall into place, too. Ruth the Moabitess was as down on her luck as one could get. She was widowed, orphaned, and estranged. In spite of these terrible setbacks, she pleaded with her mother-in-law Naomi to let her go with her to Israel, to Bethlehem particularly.
Ruth didn't sit around feeling sorry for herself. She got out there, she looked for any field where she could begin gleaning. Unlike some, she did not despise small beginnings. Unfortunately, I was one of these individuals. I wanted to have all my problems solved: good career, better car, a sense of the future. God has answered all these concerns. He has prepared the way: "He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." (Psalm 23:3)
I reread Joshua Chapter 3, too. The Israelites had passed through the Red Sea a generation ago. They survived the wilderness in spite of the harsh weather and the marauding, hostile tribes around them. For forty years, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, unable to get anywhere. Then they finally came to the border, at the Jordan River. A new generation of faithful Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land.
But they had to cross the River Jordan first. Unlike with the Red Sea, in which Moses took out his staff to split the sea in two, the priests with the Ark of the Covenant had to step into the river first. As soon as the placed their feet in the river, the waters stopped to allow the nation of Israel to cross over:
Here is God's command:
"13And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap." (Joshua 3:13)
And here's specifically what happened:
"And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; 15And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) 16That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho." (Joshua 3:14-16)
Notice that the priests just barely touched the brim. That's the least amount of action, the least amount of faith, that God is seeking from us.
He merely asks that we respond to His Goodness. He has provided all things to me. It's up to me to believe on Him and receive from Him. I was so hesitant, in part because I had had the perfect job. I also wanted to have some idea about where I was going and what was going to happen. My father and I had talked about this issue a few times.
He reminded me about Abraham, as recorded in the Book of Hebrews:
"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." (Hebrews 11:8)
In biblical numerology, 11 stands for chaos, transgression, and judgment.
8 represents new beginnings.
So, Abram left his country, his kith and kin to a new land, to receive great promises from God.
The disorder of idolatry gave way to the new beginnings of God's grace and blessings. He didn't know where he was going, but he know the God who was leading him. I had gotten a little down in the dumps about where I was going. I had this strange sense that nothing was happening, and then I wondered if I would ever find something more suitable, more worthwhile to what I was doing and wanted to keep doing.
I don't have to have my whole life figured out today. I don't need to know what steps to take going forward into the next year or the next five years, even. I may not know what the future holds, but I do know who holds the future.
Besides getting back into the job circuit, a sense of relief has retaken me. I don't feel compelled to go these public demonstration events anymore. More people, more everyday citizens need to take a stand against the corrupt, overbearing governments in their cities and their states. There comes a point in which elected officials see the same faces, hear the same arguments, and therefore they have no interest or inclination to listen to their arguments. How many more cities can I visit?
People who usually do not go to city council meetings, but then start going to the same meetings--they now have the power to make a difference. What matters above all is that I can inspire others to get out there and make a difference. That's far more important than receive the attention and praise of others for having made a difference.
For a long time, I felt that if I didn't step up and out if I didn't go to the city council meetings and make noise, if I wasn't showing up to these events--then nothing would happen. What a crock! Life goes on, more people are waking up, more people are fighting back against the anti-life, anti-family, anti-American follies like never before. I have done my part, as have many other people. The world does not rest on my shoulders, nor on any one person for that matter.
"Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." (1 Kings 19:18)
See you soon, everyone. The fight is on!
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