On Monday, to much surprise, second term US Senator, Evan Bayh, a democrat from Indiana, announce that he would not seek re-election. Monday was a few days before the filing deadline. Everyone thought he was going to run. Although Bayh was leading in the polls, he only lead former GOP House Member John Hostetter by 5 points. It would not be a totally uphill battle, but there was a possibility of him being vulnerable. He was not the most vulnerable Democratic senator. After Scott Brown won the special election in Massachusetts, Bayh said things that made me suspect he might not run. I posted on Facebook and Twitter my speculation that he might not run. In 2007, I imagine that McCain won the nomination and picked Sarah Palin as his VP. Unfortunately, I did not tell anyone about this and cannot prove it. To avoid this from happening again, I posted my speculation about Bayh, just in case.
I first heard of Bayh in 2000. In Fox News, Dick Morris suggested him as a potential Vice Presidential nominee. I remember thinking, "Who the heck is Evan Bayh?" Bayh is the son of Birch Bayh. The elder Bayh served in the Senate until 1980 when he was defeated by Dan Quayle. The younger Bayh served as governor of Indiana from 1989-1997. Bayh was elected to the Senate in 1998, replacing outgoing Senator Dan Coats. Bayh was on the short list to be vice president for Gore, Kerry, and Obama but was passed over every time. He ran briefly for the presidency in 2008. He is the former head of the Democratic leadership conference. This was the group that produced Bill Clinton. He is fairly moderate.
Bayh's departure gives another Senate seat that the Republicans can pick up. Several Republicans are now looking at the race, including Former Senator Coats. Mike Pence considered running but will stay in the House. he wants to run for the leadership of the Republican Party in the House. Is this the end of Bayh's political career or simply a lull? Is this the last Democratic Senator to retire before the 2010 election? We'll see.
My Kids
I have three boys. They are all very unique. They all have different personalities. None of them are just like me or just like Emily. Some characteristics are quintessential Emi and others are me.
Daniel is my oldest. He is Mommy's little helper. He does not like to get up in the morning, just like me. He is usually the last one to get up. Like me, he likes CDs, or as he calls the CEs. While I prefer DC Talk and Lincoln Park, He like "If you're happy and you know it" played a thousand times. He likes things organized, just so, just like me. Daniel loves to play with cars. He is very funny. You never know what he's going top say next.
Bobby is the middle kid. He has just learned to walk. He is learning to talk as well. His favorite phrase is "I like." He is our mischievous one. Like Emily, he is up earlier than everyone else. He likes cars like his brother, but his brother tries to regulate which toys he plays with. As a fundie, I'm ashamed to say it, but he's a great dancer. He is the only one in our family that has rhythm.
Tommy is our littlest one. His personality is still developing. He is a big smiler. He has gotten really big, really fast.
When I was growing up, I was an only child. The closest I ever had to siblings was my two cousins. I enjoy watching my kids interact. I enjoy seeing how Bobby looks up to Daniel and Tommy looks up to Bobby. I bet some day they'll read this. I wonder what they'll think.
Daniel is my oldest. He is Mommy's little helper. He does not like to get up in the morning, just like me. He is usually the last one to get up. Like me, he likes CDs, or as he calls the CEs. While I prefer DC Talk and Lincoln Park, He like "If you're happy and you know it" played a thousand times. He likes things organized, just so, just like me. Daniel loves to play with cars. He is very funny. You never know what he's going top say next.
Bobby is the middle kid. He has just learned to walk. He is learning to talk as well. His favorite phrase is "I like." He is our mischievous one. Like Emily, he is up earlier than everyone else. He likes cars like his brother, but his brother tries to regulate which toys he plays with. As a fundie, I'm ashamed to say it, but he's a great dancer. He is the only one in our family that has rhythm.
Tommy is our littlest one. His personality is still developing. He is a big smiler. He has gotten really big, really fast.
When I was growing up, I was an only child. The closest I ever had to siblings was my two cousins. I enjoy watching my kids interact. I enjoy seeing how Bobby looks up to Daniel and Tommy looks up to Bobby. I bet some day they'll read this. I wonder what they'll think.
Joy: Missing Ingredient in Christianity
Something seems really off. One camp says we need to tone down our doctrine and love and accept everyone. The other side goes overboard with doctrinal purity. Do we really need to rail against Tinky-Winky, Harry Potter, DaVinci Code and Twilight? The non-Christian world knows more about what we're against than what we're for. We appear to be against everything. Rob Bell observed that if you have a really cool trampoline, you don't argue over the trampoline, you invite others to join it. We are doing way more arguing than inviting. I recently heard about a brand new pastor who apologized for the previous actions of the church. I think that is a start.
How do we solve this problem? Do we abandon doctrine and focus only on love? What does Jesus say we should do? In Revelations 2, Jesus confronts the church at Ephesus for forsaking their first love. He does not tell them to give up their doctrinal stand but commends them for their stand. He says to keep holding their firm stand, but return to your first love. We've lost the joy of our salvation. We need to fall in love with Christ again.
Why have we lost that joy? We are going through the motions. Like Martha, we're careful and troubled about many things. We have taken our eyes off Christ. We need to get our eyes back on Christ. We need to find joy in Christ again. The joy of the Lord is our strength.
How do we solve this problem? Do we abandon doctrine and focus only on love? What does Jesus say we should do? In Revelations 2, Jesus confronts the church at Ephesus for forsaking their first love. He does not tell them to give up their doctrinal stand but commends them for their stand. He says to keep holding their firm stand, but return to your first love. We've lost the joy of our salvation. We need to fall in love with Christ again.
Why have we lost that joy? We are going through the motions. Like Martha, we're careful and troubled about many things. We have taken our eyes off Christ. We need to get our eyes back on Christ. We need to find joy in Christ again. The joy of the Lord is our strength.
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