Here are a few thoughts a dear friend of mine, David, wrote that I think really speak volumes. Enjoy!
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How's My Vision?

I asked myself today how's my vision?
I ask myself, am I seeing clearly?
As a believer In Jesus the Christ I am compelled to ask myself how is my vision?
Am I viewing life through pre-resurrection eyes or do my eyes behold the Anointed Christ of GOD seated at the Father's side?

I find myself desiring to know the deep Spiritual truths of the Almighty. I desire to see things clearly. Often I know that I do.

I also must admit as the disciples it's not over yet, so I don't see as they saw after the resurrection. After the resurrection the crucifixion made sense, though they expected an immediate return.
After the final judgment it will all make sense, yet that is to come.

I stop to pray. Father, help me with my limited vision. I know the limits are on my side not Yours. I know You alone know the end from the beginning.
His revelation strikes my heart as I know the end and it's Good!!
I pause in wonder as I realize. It is Good! Those 3 words echo in my ears as I drink in their meaning.
Just as it was in the beginning.
I say amazing.
How did that happen? I also say thank you to the one I know is LORD.

Courage. That is the call. True courage- not the kind that wishes for recognition or fame or recompense, but the courage that comes from the deep belief in something greater; something more important than the comfortable, deceivingly safe lies that shelter the cowardice in our hearts and the hearts of our leaders.
Patriots must remember what it is that makes us Americans- learn again what, and Who created our country. Bravery, fortitude and integrity must be our weapons of choice against the completely self-interested schemes of those who would wish to fundamentally change what America was meant to be: a free nation for the righteous, a shelter for the persecuted, a just disciplinarian of the evildoer.
We must gain knowledge to arm ourselves fearlessly, fearlessness to persevere, perseverance to win; and in winning to give not just ourselves, but our fellow countrymen and women, our children, and those yet unborn the opportunity to know what America is- what She should be, who God made Her to be and through that security of a free state, the ability to ourselves become whom God has made us to be.
Despite common misconception, the path to who we should be is not lost or unreachable. It is not behind us, but before us. If only we can see it past the foreboding monsters guarding the gate, through the vines of dishonesty choking the route, beyond the daunting obstacles down the jagged way, and allow ourselves to realize that although the golden light of freedom at the end does not come without a price, we must, with grim determination, muster the courage to step forward and take the journey anyway.
Below is a basic roadmap of four basic points outlining the journey that must be travelled. As you read, please keep in mind: this is simply an outline not a step by step process, fear is pointless, and with God, anything is possible.
First, we must reclaim the Constitution as the true basis of all our laws as a nation. “Reclaiming” would include abolishing laws and government practices that clearly defy the Constitution, and firm resilience in restraining those who would use their power in the government to break our laws without consequence. Such abuse of power is not an infrequent occurrence as shown through recent events, including but not restricted to;
-The invasion of our privacy, including Intrusion of Solitude, such as the Prism surveillance program used by NSA, and Public disclosure of private facts, such as we have seen through the hacking of private emails of former General David Petraeus, which resulted in his resignation from the position as Director of the CIA.
-The unlawful search of American citizens, and the seizure of private information, persons, and property; such as pat-downs, scans and full body-searches performed by TSA, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security.
-The restrictions, and at times, complete infringement of our right to keep and bear arms such as the enforcement of “gun free zones”, strict government regulation of sale, possession and use of firearms in certain states, such as New York, and illegality of certain weapons systems, ammunition capacities and other unreasonable restrictions nationwide.
-To conclude this topic, the overall tendency of the federal government to become part of not just our daily lives, but every moment of those days, and exploiting that power at every opportunity should no longer be permitted. The solution to this would be the deference of all decisions given to first local and then state governments, rather than that of the federal.
Although the points above are sure to fall short of what is needed in completion, the idea remains the same- the government of the United States, especially that of the Federal government, has grossly overstepped its bounds in the area of law, and its unconstitutionality must not be allowed to continue. Rather, it must be stopped, and set back on the right track to be the government we so direly need.
Secondly, America must create a responsible budget, realizing that it will mean we will have to simply do without comforts we have become accustomed to. Daring leaders must stand up and defy the insanity surrounding not only Washington but also our state governments and say no to the frivolous and wasteful programs our money is going towards. Examples of this would be;
-The $1.5 million used to preserve graffiti in Alcatraz
-The $4.4 billion for a Minority Farmer Cash Giveaway
-The $700,000 given to University of New Hampshire for investigating methane gas emissions from dairy cows
-The tens of billions lost in duplicative programs
-Dare I mention the President’s exorbitantly priced vacations?
The available lists of this government’s lavish waste are so extensive that I cannot help but state that the few examples I have given are not even a drop in the river of extravagance we cannot afford. A Budget is a must- a vital diet for a morbidly obese people, lest we kill ourselves with this ridiculous gluttony.
Thirdly, we must find trusted, moral men and women who will dedicate themselves to investigating and carrying out the measures necessary to resolve the far too numerous scandals in the government, retiring and replacing all wrongfully involved and rewarding those who kept their integrity. Examples of such scandals would be;
-The Internal Revenue Service discriminately targeting conservative and pro-Israel groups
-The failure of the government to protect the Benghazi mission, changing the talking points to mislead the true cause of the attack, and the refusal of the White House to say what the President did the night of the attack
-The Justice Department performing large-scale gathering of the Assocoated Press reporters’ phone records as part of a leak investigation
And, as before, the list goes on and on.
Lastly, we must bring the laws of the land back to the scale for which they were first laid down: small government the favored measure. Examples of this would be;
-Grant the states the rights to the education of their children; a possible result of this could be the dissolution of the Department of Education if the states would so choose.
-Giving the majority of the power of the national border to the individual states, rather than the federal government, granting states such as Arizona the right to protect their people from outside harm, as the federal government has shown itself lax in this area.
-Repeal the 16th Amendment and the Unified Gift and Federal Estate Tax
We must not forget, that if men cannot govern themselves, then they must, like children, be governed. This is something a free America’s enemies understand. Man is not basically good, and without the hand of God to guide him, he must have some other form of regulation; a responsibility many equally evil men are more than willing to take upon themselves under the guise of big government. Unfortunately, once the glamorous mask is lifted, one can see that the “responsibility” is simply desired for the power and or agenda completion this status would give the leaders rather than the wellbeing of the people governed. Therefore, we must realize and act upon the fact that America’s original blueprints will not work unless government is carried out by the smallest parts first- each individual, beginning with the self-government of our souls, minds and actions. We must evaluate with care and wisdom what truth is, and who has made it. We must return to God, the creator of truth. The reason for our great Country’s greatness is that it was established upon Christian principles and those who founded it founded themselves in the law of God.
The lazier the people, the bigger the government, and vice-versa; it’s a vicious cycle, and we must break it. However, any time we break a cycle, other things tend to as well be broken- casualties of war if you will. We must decide what we are willing to sacrifice and what we aim to protect. Comfort, happiness, and peace must not be what we aim for; goodness alone is not enough. Truth. Freedom. Life. These are the things that are worthy- these are the things that will last. These three things we cannot allow to be eaten by the malicious succession of human depravity. These three things are worth fighting for.

Lies.
The lied to and the liars.
One leads to more and more to the rest.
Our leaders, our followers, ourselves,
Lost, struggling, drowning, deceived.
Where does it begin? Where does it end?
This sea of deception not the sweet stream imagined,
Cries of anger with no names to blame
The truth itself called a falsehood.
Shall all the liars drown,
the few blameless with them?
Or shall one brave soul repent and drain the sea
And show the muck and mire fearlessly?

Running, Running, in terror of what they know will follow

Down, Down, cliffs of animated skin

Free-

Falling, falling, heavy through static air

Hitting, Splattering, shattering into a million pieces

Sliding, Sighing, dying, wetting fists of steel-

My tears, my banished, fearful tears.

I do what I do not because it is easy, but because it is right.
I do what I do because it is what God requires of me, not because I wish to do it.
I gain no respect from men,
I gain no riches, no glory, no pride.
I gain no love, no praise, no recognition.
But I don’t need it.
Pride comes before the fall- I do all I can to stand.
All glory fades.
Riches rarely bring happiness, but very often wickedness.
Praise, I do not need, for praise is very often flattery, and flattery is gainful only to the flatterer.
Recognition- pride, arrogance and invasion of privacy follow quickly behind.
Love- oh, I have love a plenty, for God has always loved me, his love I can never gain or lose, for it is not mine to give or take, but his alone to sustain. He has given me a family to love, and a family that loves me back.
I follow God’s wishes, submit to my authorities, work hard, quell my frustration, cool my anger, find joy in life, the great things and the small, and trust God that He knows what He is doing- because very often I don’t.
I enjoy the sunrise, breath the first breath of the day, smile with the stars, dance with the moon, love my family, forgive my enemies, work willingly with my hands, use my talents to share the truth, God’s truth, with those surrounding me.
I will not pity myself for my misfortunes, or pride in my successes, but give God the glory for both.
It’s not about me.
It was never about me.

You have heard it said, “The truth will set you free.”
But in these days, these hard, corrupt, evil days,
Those who speak truth may indeed be scorned, enslaved, killed.
Those who speak lies will oppose you,
Those who use hide the truth will fear you,
Those who fear the truth will try their best to silence you.
But you cannot fear the false,
You must not bow to the deceitful,
You must stand, no matter what they do to you.
For sticks and stones may break your bones,
But true words will be their undoing.
This the untruthful know-
They will try their best to sew closed your lips.
But remember, your body; the part of you they may capture,
Is not the whole of you.
For it is your soul that remains when the body is gone,
Long wasted by the grave,
Your soul is the only part of you that can ever be truly free.
The truth will set your soul free.
Do not forget.
The truth will, in the end, set all of us free.

The world cries.
Not for the lost child, gone before he drew his first breath,
Not for the man, ruined by untruths, lies sewing closed his lips,
Not for the woman, who sold her body for food,
Or the soldier who died, not knowing what he was worth.

The world cries tears of selfishness.
Each man caught up in himself.
No one seeing the loss of another,
Compassion a forgotten word.
Love turned to lust,
Truth called hate,
God a forbidden name,

People named animals and thrown into cages,
Their wrongs and rights uncared for.
This is the state of not just the dis-united Union, but the human condition.

A world of worries, sorrow and fear
A land of darkness, shrouded and drear
Is this the life-place that was meant to be?
Or something created by a catastrophe?
Men may blame the hurt on kings and wars
But why so hard battle the waves on our soul-shores?
Because men are good, but have turned to evil?
Or because men are evil and know not how to turn to good?
For turn on our own, surely we cannot.
But by God’s strength shall our battles be fought.
Not by flesh and blood and clash of steel
But by what the Spirit of God shall to us reveal.
Try as we may to be our own master
Either God or Satan shall our souls be under
Whom this day will you serve?
Your selfish wants- Satan’s wishes?
Or the things of God, your soul’s true riches?

Death:
Cruel and happy
Hard and easy
A love for the near past;
A faith in the time to come.

To those who have lost him:
A grief beyond knowing.
To those who have gained him:
A joy everlasting.

Anyone noticed the new axis of evil Russia, China, and Iran?
Think, my friends, please use that brain the good Lord gave you- what do these three countries have in common? Well, nothing really… I mean, besides their love of nuclear weapons and hate of America- but besides that, nothin’.
Why isn’t this new, and quite frankly frightening, alliance all over the news? Oh, right, because “It might offend somebody”. Well, my fellow Americans, I think we’re going to be pretty offended when they nuke us into the stone age.
Oh, and don’t worry- it gets worse.
"Armed with a vast array of anti-ship and long-range missiles, Iran can target US troop positions throughout the Middle East and strike US Navy ships. Iran can also use its weapons to blockade the Straits of Hormuz through which one-third of the world's traded oil is shipped.” stated Erich Marquardt, a Senior Editor with the Combating Terrorism Center.
So, extra danger for our boys and girls trying to keep us safe while we sit and eat our TV dinners and watch The Simpsons, and one third less gas to drive to work with- or should I say 33.3% high gas prices?

So what? You might say if we can just convince our president to me smart and let us drill oil on our own land, then we just have to worry about their military- so they have big guns- but ours are bigger!
Yes, ours ARE bigger, but we don’t hate the Iranians. They hate us- well, not all of them of course, I am sure there as some really nice Iranians, it’s only their President Ahmadinejad. You see, hate goes a long way, and with their low value of human life, I feel safe in saying that we could be in for a tough one this time.
The third world war? Probably not, I wouldn’t go that far- but I’m sure the rest of the world thought the same thing when they heard that Hitler was an over-achiever.

I see the vengeance like lightening.
I hear the anger like thunder.
I feel the pain like wind.
I taste the tears like rain.
There is a storm coming. One like we have never seen- perhaps seen by others before us, but I think not.
It will take a whole lot of Heaven to undo all that Hell has done.

On May 1, 2011, the great nemesis of freedom, Osama Bin Laden, was declared dead; shot above his left eye in an assault from the American Military special team code named “SEAL Team Six”.
The declaration of his death brought tears of joy to the eyes of many a freedom-loving heart all across the western world, and, I suspect, especially in New York; the birth place of Bin Laden’s war against America, on the day September 11, 2001, when he slammed and shoved our world, and, unwittingly, us together; to stand against him, find him, and ultimately kill him.
However, we cannot, we must not forget all those who died in the long, hard, treacherous road to finding, and finally bringing the murderer of our brothers and sisters to justice.

According to a Pakistani Journalist, Hamid Mir, Osama Bin Laden reportedly said, “I am a person who loves death.”
Well Osama, that’s exactly what you got.
You are no longer wanted, not for money, not for justice, and certainly not for any benefit of the world. You will only be despised for your hate of all things good and free, and the deaths of so many who did not deserve it.
Thank You “SEAL team 6”, from all across America, and the Freedom loving world, thank you for bringing retribution to those who died in the fiery hell of 9/11, for our soldiers who gave their lives in the sands of the Middle East, for all those lost, but never forgotten.

When one asks another whether the procedure of abortion is right or wrong, one will find three basic answers: yes, no, and “it depends on the circumstance”.
I hope to either justify or condemn all three of these answers.
If you will look at this practice scientifically, any human with a soul will find that abortion can be none other than murder.
If I may, perhaps a simple question will suffice to make my argument clearer.
When, would you say, does life begin?
Although I realize that you, reader, may have a million different answers, for clarity’s sake, let’s say that life begins at birth. I think (and hope) that all would agree. So, once the child is born and in his mother’s arms, he or she is alive. ( And of course, by alive I mean also that it would be wrong to kill the child)
So how about the day before: was the child alive the day before it was born?
Well, sure, you say. It could have been born a little early or even pre-mature, but is yet still alive.
Okay, so what about the day before that, and the day before that? You see where I’m going with this?
So you say, fine, smarty, when does life begin then, because it has to start somewhere.
The only logical conclusion is at conception (when the female’s egg is fertilized).
Therefore, I would think it valid to say that abortion is wrong, no matter the circumstance, for isn’t murder, well, murder? Abortion should not be a mother’s choice, for it is not only her body, her life, she is deciding for, but the body and life of a helpless beautiful child who has not done any wrong to deserve execution, much less one so brutal and disgusting.

Freedom is so carefully bought
By sacrifices so painfully wrought
By the Brave who selflessly volunteer
To give their blood, sweat, and tears
This great love do they show
To you and I who they do not know
Their precious lives themselves endanger
For you and I the perfect stranger
We pass them by in the street
And do not know the Hero we meet
Some curse, and laugh, and spit in their faces
And still the warrior takes their place
In the firey hell of the battlefield
To protect the freedom of the ungrateful: his body for a shield

Fear: the most powerful weapon on earth. It cuts, crushes, paralyzes, breaks and tears.
It brings the best and most honorable of people to their knees.
That is exactly why we cannot let it, fear, enter our hearts; ever.
The world today is so depressing, so hard, so cruel; but it’s been worse. We as a country have survived the tortures of the World Wars and Vietnam, the tough blows of the Great Depression, and the horror and shock of 9/11.
We can make it; we just have to stand up for what America really means; not just freedom, but bravery. Not just charity, but strength; hope and new ideas.
We have to start with ourselves, with our family and friends. Hope must come from the heart, not just a piece of paper. Become the best you can be, yourself. What has made our country so incredible is that every individual is incredible. “A chord of many strands is not easily broken.”
We are not done, we have been hit hard by the low blow of taxes, loss of jobs, and loss of life in a war we sometimes don’t understand, but we have not been defeated. We may have been knocked down, but if we stand tall, stand strong, and stand together, we will rise again. Have hope; we will rise again.

Freedom: a decision and a sacrifice;
Peace and liberty; but not without a price.
Liberty with laws
Liberty in the laws
And Liberty protected by the law;
This is the very essence of freedom.
Once embodied by the great America, then sadly stolen from Her when her glory had but begun with cheap tricks and careful lies.
How easily our freedom is stolen; and how treacherous the path to gain it.
By the blood of patriots and the tears of Lady Liberty shall a free land be won: and by the all too soon forgotten grace of God.