Certainty of "Death and Taxes" or Certainty of "Death through Taxes"? YOU DECIDE.

Why, O LORD, do you stand far away?  Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?  In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.  For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.  In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek Him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God."  His ways prosper at all time; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.  He says in his heart, "I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity." His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.  He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent.  His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.  The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.  He says in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it."  . . . (Psalm 10:1-11)

In my limited view of American history, U.S. citizens have never been faced with a more difficult, important decision than this year's presidential election.  I have found myself not wanting to support any of the options and decided not to vote, but then this week happened.  

First, I found out that Barack Obama is in support of the requirement for women to register with the Selective Service.  I did some investigating and there it was.  Obama believes that the legislation should coincide with what is happening in the military.  

Two wrongs don't make a right.  It is a man's job to fight, not our mothers and daughters.  It is hard enough to hear about our fathers and sons being killed at war and he wants to add the ones who nearly died giving birth to us?  Obama said, " . . . I think that if women are registered for service, not necessarily in combat roles . . . I think it will help send a message to my two daughters that they've got obligations to this great country as well as boys do."  The problem with this is, if you are in the military you are trained for combat and if you are in the military you are a target.

We probably all agree that events like the Holocaust, Hiroshima, and 9/11 were attacks on innocent blood.  They could also be looked at as attacks on civilians.  We all agree this is wrong, right?  Is it right for militaries to attack militaries?  Well, yes.  Then, do we want our mothers and daughters to be in the military where there is no such thing as a non-combative role? Absolutely not! 

Now the next ticker.  I read in the New York Times that Joe Biden says life begins at conception.  Oh really?  Are we talking about human life?  Because if human life were at stake shouldn't he be defending the helpless and the innocent?  Biden says that he doesn't want to impose his personal views on others.  Isn't that what the government is for?  To protect the people and human life.  They'll protect the people by putting murderers in jail but you only have rights to protection if you have made it to the other side of the womb.  That's absurd!

Lastly, as I was blogging yesterday (through Doug Wilson's blog) I found this article about Obama's stance on abortion.  He is quoted in the article saying that "the first thing I'd do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act" otherwise know as FOCA.  This would guarantee the right for women to abort their babies through the entire nine months of pregnancy for "undefined 'health' reasons."  Additionally, as stated in the article, Obama "opposed legislation to protect children who are born alive, either as a result of an abortionist's unsuccessful effort to kill them in the womb, or by the deliberate delivery of the baby prior to viability."  The list goes on and on.  

If we don't stand up for the poor, helpless, and the innocent who will?  

Don't use my tax money to pay for death.  Use it to protect human life.  For these reasons I am going to vote McCain/Palin - to protect mothers, wives, daughters, children, and the little ones in the womb.  God have mercy on us.

Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.  If you say, "Behold, we did not know this," does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?  Does not He who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will He not repay man according to his work? (Proverbs 24:11-12)

Are we there yet?

Do you remember those days riding in the backseat of the car on long family trips asking "Are we there yet"?  I know I do.  In fact, my brothers would give me the typical "smart alec" responses saying, "We're never there, we are always here."  In many different areas of my life sometimes it seems like I'm never going to get "there."  But I know I need to be patient and take joy in the now.  

These past couple of months have been exciting, busy, and full of emotion.  Amy and I have been challenged in many different ways.  Amy is, according to her doctor, nine weeks pregnant with an expected due date in late May.  We are thrilled and have been waiting and praying for the blessing of children.  Many close friends and family know that we weren't always excited about having children.    We didn't believe that children were a blessing and kept our distance from them because we thought they were annoying.  When we moved out to Indiana, Amy was set on not having children until we moved back to Pennsylvania (which we don't know when or if that is in God's plan for us).  He obviously has a completely different plan for us than we have and His plan is perfect.  The more and more we live by faith and obey His Word (The Bible) the more we are humbled and blessed, and God giving us children is just another example of that.  

The busyness I mentioned earlier lies in all the work we have done in our home and outside (see below), the work I have been doing at church (like directing the Worship Choir at Church of the Good Shepherd, playing drums in the worship band, and writing music), out of church (trying to record an EP with The Good Shepherd Band during the evenings - again, see blog below, and if you aren't sure what an EP is, check out wikipedia), and school work at the university (directing the Indiana University Women's Chorus and taking classes for doctoral work).  

Since I am nearing the end of my course work, Amy's pregnancy comes at a good time.  So far Amy hasn't been very sick apart from having a perpetual cold and feeling worn out.  There is a lot to look forward to and a lot to be patient for.  Pray that God will continue to provide for us and provide me on going work in music to pay the bills.  Continue to check back here for more posts.  I hope to use this blog to put pictures up so you can watch the belly grow.  The picture above was taken just a few days ago in downtown Bloomington at the Irish Lion.  Love to all!

House remodeling

This is our upstairs bathroom that we refinished in late May?  We painted the walls, vanity, light fixtures, sanded the cabinets and refinished, and put vinyl tile down.  

 

Below is the basement where we put ceramic tile down, repainted and remodeled the bathroom.  We also have a couple new couches.  The picture of Amy and I is in the living room which still needs to be painted. 

The Good Shepherd Band EP Recording

This October, 2008,  The Good Shepherd Band began recording its first EP in "Mick's Basement".   The project is being funded by ClearNote Records.  We hope to have at least five songs on the recording to share with you.  For now you can check out the myspace page to hold you over.  The band members are Jody Killingsworth (vocals and keys), Andrew Henry (guitars and back-up vocals), Mick Buschbacher (bass), and myself, Philip Moyer (drums).  I am engineering the recording with the guidance of Darius Fong at Schnee Studios in North Hollywood using a Korg D3200 multi-track recorder to lay the tracks down and then Darius will do the mixing in his studio.  Darius just finished working with The Cold War Kids on their album "Loyalty to Loyalty".  Check it out!

The new EP is expected to be ready in January 2009.