Yesterday I had the wonderful misfortune of running into those mindless zombies called protestors down in Los Angeles. I don’t normally go to Los Angeles, as in almost never. I hate driving there. But I have driven there a few times for field trips, or airport trips. I had a conference to go to that I paid for, so off I went.

I gave myself plenty of time to allow for traffic and to find parking when I got there. But I didn’t think about the protestors. I didn’t think they were still there. They took forty minutes of my time, to wait for them to cross in front of a line of cars. I came upon the LA bridge and just stopped. I couldn’t figure out what was going on as I strained to look ahead of me. I saw glimpses of flags slowly moving past the front cars, way up ahead. I sighed loudly, as I realized what had stopped traffic. I looked at my watch. Well, if they pass quickly, I will still have time to get to where I’m going and then find parking. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed. Fifteen minutes passed. These people were really slow walkers. Finally, about twenty to twenty-five minutes passed before we could finally move forward.

I quickly moved towards the streets I needed to get to. When I finally got there, the protestors had made it to where I needed to go. They were coming up the road I needed to cross. A motorcycle policeman and a police car parked in each of the two lanes to block anyone from going forward. I got an up close look at them. Very slowly. Very, very slowly, the people walked down the streets. There was no energy among them. No enthusiasm. You would think they were a funeral march as slow as they walked. I’m not for their cause, but even if I was, I wouldn’t have been impressed. They robbed me of forty minutes of my time and countless other people. They took up the police resources who had to watch out for them, since they walked right down the middle of the street, as slowly as possible. This was a pathetic sight. I have heard rumors that many of these people were paid to protest. It sure looked like it. They really had no enthusiasm for their cause. Maybe it would have been more tolerable if they showed a little more energy and maybe looked mad or something. Or, if they chanted or yelled. But not these people, they just slowly moved through the streets like zombies. Like a little blob, carrying flags, barely making it down the street.

I recounted the incident to my kids. I complained how these people robbed me of forty minutes of my time. My daughter says to me, “God gave them a gift of thinking, why don’t they use it?” Good question! Why don’t they use it? Why don’t they think? I don’t think anyone was happy with these people. Nobody was honking their horns or waving their hands as a show of approval. There was nothing. Just silent zombies walking forward, taking up the streets and taking up people’s time and all of us in our cars impatiently waiting for them to pass by.

What did they accomplish? What was the point? It seemed like a galactic waste of time and money. This whole incident reminded me of this verse:

Rev. 3:16 “So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

God says He hates the lukewarm. He says to pick a side, any side. Just pick a side and go all out. These protestors acted like they could care less if they were there. They moved at a glacial pace. If they really cared about what they were doing, they would have had more energy. If you are going to protest, then by golly, get out there and protest. If you want to be hot, be all hot. If you want to be cold, then be all cold. But don’t be lukewarm. Don’t be like these zombies walking around as if their diapers were full and they could barely walk because of it.

I was supposed to pick up my nephew this morning. I knew the time, the flight number, the airlines. There was one piece of information I didn’t get. Where would I pick him up?

I drove to the airport, giving him plenty of time to deboard the plane, and then head out to the curb to be picked up. Plenty of time. This should have been a no brainer. Pick up the nephew at the airport, how hard could that be? Apparently, it was nearly impossible.

It was all smooth sailing to the airport: no traffic. There was some rain, but that just made the drive more interesting. I made it right to the airport, cruised into the arrivals lane, and easily got into the lane closest to the curb lane. I looked for his airlines-Delta. There it was! I looked around, my nephew is over 6′ 5″, so he’s hard to miss. Driving about 25 mph, I perused the people standing by the curb, who looked anxiously at me like I was their great white hope. No nephew to be seen. Not a problem. I’ll just cruise on around the airport and circle back. He’s probably making his way to the curb right now. Coming back a second time, I glance over at the curbside crowd, looking for the tall kid. Nope. Not there yet. Still not a problem, I’ll just swing around again. There wasn’t much traffic, so this was easy peasy. Third time, I cruise by. I see a tall dark headed person up ahead. As I near him, I realize he clearly isn’t the nephew. This is becoming funny. As I drive past the curbside crowd, like hungry birds who open their mouths when a shadow covers them, these people look at me with great hope and expectation. I apologize in my mind to them. Sorry, I’m not the one.

By the fifth circle, I’m starting to think maybe God has me here for another reason. Maybe I’m supposed to help out another soul, pick them up and bring them home. They all seem so lost, those curbside waiters, as I pass them by. They, looking upon me, desperation in their eyes, pleading, someone pick me up, please.

I cruise around the airport, seven, eight, nine, ten times. Now I’m in a bad mood. He’s not sitting inside the airport is he? He’s not hoping I’m going to go park the car and walk in to get him, is he? I talk out loud to him. I tell him to get his butt outside now! This is getting ridiculous. Eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen times I’ve circled. It’s almost like I’m taunting the poor people who see me now for the upteenth time and I haven’t stopped yet. Cruel woman, they’re probably thinking. Cruel, mean woman who won’t stop.

Finally, with a huge sigh, I swing over to the cell phone lot. My cell phone has been in my purse behind my seat. I’m a very conscientious driver, but since the accident, I’m even more vigilant. I will not touch my cell phone while I’m driving. I park in the parking lot, just as my phone is ringing. It’s my son. He says the phone at home has been ringing off the hook, aren’t I picking up the nephew? Yes, I say, in an angry tone. I’ve been circling this airport like a mad woman. Where is he? My son says he’s there. He’s been waiting for a long time. Okay, fine. Just then, the nephew calls. He sounds perturbed. I am perturbed. Where the heck is he? He says he’s been sitting there for over an hour and a half. I ask him where? He says outside the airport, at the curb. I ask the golden question, are you outside arrivals? No, he’s been sitting up top at the departure gates. I roll my eyes and try and keep a calm voice. I’ll be right there I tell him.

Sure enough, I drive up to the top, to departures. Sure enough, there’s the nephew, sitting there, at the curb, waiting for me. I stop the car, get out and flag him over. Over he comes. He’s upset with me and I’m upset with him. It will be funny later, but right at this moment, it’s not.

How many times do we spend our Christian lives doing the same things over and over again, hoping this time, is the right time. This time, I’ll finally make the connection. Around and around we go, yet our lives are fruitless, aimless. When we reach that point, stop. Make a change, so you can regroup. Maybe you need more information. Maybe you need more instruction from the Lord. Maybe you need to stop and pray. Maybe you need to stop and read your Bible. Whatever the reason, don’t keep going in circles like me at the airport. Just stop. Change directions.

This is Thanksgiving week and I have much to be thankful for. Notwithstanding, Hillary Clinton was denied the office of President of the United States. That alone is worth celebrating. But something else happened on election day that I’m celebrating.

At 10:15am on election day I drove home from Irvine Valley College after I had picked up my daughter from class. It was like the many, many other days I had picked her up. We headed home, as she recounted her day so far. We have a four way stop outside our condo complex, so like I’ve done a thousand times I stopped in the left hand turn. Nobody was at the intersection, it was just me all by my lonesome. I turned into the intersection, when suddenly my daughter screamed, “They’re not stopping mom!” Bam! A gun shot went off. At least that’s what it sounded like. Someone had come out of nowhere and t boned our car.

I turned to my daughter, because that was the side we were hit on. Her eyes were as big as saucers, terror in them. She sobbed and a sense of panic surged in me. Was she okay? I asked her if she was. I reached in back of her back and ran my hands down it. Are you okay? Are you sure you’re okay? She bent her head on my shoulder and I rubbed her back to console her.

Suddenly, I remembered the driver who just hit us. A fear struck me that they would take off. I got out of the car. I told my daughter to come out on my side as she couldn’t open the door on her side. I was shaking. My daughter was sobbing. But I was able to get out of the car and move around to the other driver. She sat there in her car. I had to tell her to roll her window down. I yelled at her, “What is wrong with you? You didn’t even stop!” I told her to call the police, but she just sat there looking confused.

I went back to my car to find my cell phone to call the police. I found it. Meanwhile, paramedics had stopped and were asking us if we were okay. I said we seemed to be. My daughter had a cut on her fingers. I had a cut on my knee. My glasses had flown off my face, but we were alive. We were walking around the car and we were alive!

After the police took a report. After the tow truck towed away our car. My daughter and I walked down the street, into our neighborhood and home. We walked home! Our car had just been smashed on the passenger side by a driver going at least sixty miles an hour and we walked away!

God protected us. The car crash could have ended very differently. But it didn’t. My daughter has a sore shoulder and I have a bad case of whiplash. But we’re alive!

At first, I began to panic about what would be the outcome of all of this. Would we be able to replace the car or get it fixed? What about a car in the meantime? I kept praying for peace so I wouldn’t panic. I know what stress can do to our bodies. So, in the quiet still voice that is the Holy Spirit, I heard Him telling me He loved me. I was His child. He never left us alone in that car. He was there with us, protecting us. He wouldn’t leave us now. He still loves us. He still has our best interests in mind. And that has made all the difference. When I changed my focus from the ruined car to God’s love for me, the panic drained from me. The fear went away. I was whole, inside and out. Praise God!

And that is one of the big lessons I learned through all this. If we are feeling panic about our circumstances, change your focus. Don’t dwell on the situation. Dwell on God’s love for you. It will make all the difference in the world!

Trump won! Against all odds, he pulled it off and won the election. I’ve heard Christians say that it’s not really a win. I’ve heard people say that he’s immoral and really not much better than Hillary Clinton. I beg to differ. I see this victory differently than most.

I believe God has ushered in Trump as President of the United States. I believe God soundly defeated the enemy, when Hillary Clinton lost the election fair and square. That was God’s doing. Trump is immoral, yes. But does that disqualify him for the office of president of the United States? No. Trump is imperfect, but we all are. Some to a greater degree than others, but we are ALL in need of a Savior. None of us are perfect.

Throughout the Bible God used imperfect people to do His work. Look at Sampson. He couldn’t keep his hands off the girls. He had one job, kill the Philistines, but he spent most of his life, loving the girls. He finally did it in the end. He killed the Philistines along with himself.

Is Trump just a little better than Hillary Clinton? No! He is significantly better than Hillary Clinton. If there was just one reason God would elect Trump, than it is this. There is one matter that God cares deeply about. The matter probably “trumps” all the other issues. Abortion. You see, our country has been killing babies ever since Roe Vs. Wade became a law of the land. God takes issue with the murder of innocent children at the hands of their own mothers. The blood of millions of children have been crying out to God! God doesn’t ignore these things. God heard their cries. Hillary Clinton is very pro abortion. Her husband enacted the partial birth abortion when he was in office. If Hillary Clinton were in office, she would very likely enact partial birth abortion again. She has no problem with the abortion and strongly supports it.

Trump has said he will reverse Roe vs. Wade. This idea freaks out the left and progressives. I believe God is going to use Trump to stop abortion and help us clean up our act as a country.

Christians have been praying for years (myself included) for God’s mercy on our country. We know God has blessed us, but we know that we have lived badly for years, invoking God’s wrath on us. God is a merciful God. He is a God of second chances. God answers prayers.

The election seemed against the odds. Hillary’s people were crying fowl, long before the election, demanding that Trump concede already. The media started harassing him, asking him if he was going to concede after Hillary beat him by a landslide. They said he wouldn’t and wasn’t he a creep for not conceding already. When everything is against you, and you pull it off and win, that’s a God thing.

There was no question that Trump had won. There were no dangling chads  or confusion as to who had Florida. Nothing was questionable. Trump’s win was concise, clear and obvious. Clearly, Hillary had lost, Trump had won. Nobody could question it. That’s a God thing.

God is opposed to the proud. Hillary Clinton had so much pride, she fell spectacularly! The media who strongly supported her had declared her a winner long before election night. Her headquarters were lavish. Trump’s were humble. Very quickly Hillary’s pride was being attacked as it became clear early on that Hillary, in fact, was losing. To fall so far and so spectacularly, that’s a God thing.

My prayer for the past three months or so was that God would deny Hillary Clinton that prize of becoming the first female president of the United States, because of her great pride, because of her wickedness and because of her lies upon lies. I felt like Abraham, bargaining with God about Sodom and Gormorrah. I prayed that God would defeat the enemy and usher in Trump as president. And I know I’m not the only one who prayed that. I know many others prayed that too.

I believe God is using Trump and instructing him. Why would Trump select a Christian as his running mate? Trump is surrounding himself with good people. He is serious. He is careful. So now that he has won, let’s pray for him. Let’s pray for his protection and pray that he continue to do the things he said he would do. Will you join me in praying for our newly elected President of the United States, Donald Trump?

I spent some of my weekend watching a video about spirit cooking. In case you haven’t heard, John Podesta (Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager) is into that. To catch you up, spirit cooking is a satanic ritual designed by Aleister Crowley (founder of the satanic church). In this ritual, the witch is supposed to paint pictures with a mixture of menstrual blood, semen, and breast milk.  Why? I don’t know. It’s just part of some bizzare satanic ritual.

The woman who does these things, Marina Abramovic, is a performance artist in addition to her witchy duties of spirit cooking. At some point she did a performance piece in which she stood still, topless, next to a table filled with instruments that anyone can use against her: a rose, a feather, a scalpel, a gun and a bullet. By the end of the performance, she had cuts and blood all over her face and chest as people used these things on her. This is art people. (Just in case, you couldn’t tell what I was talking about based on the use of the words: blood, cuts, scalpel and gun.

As I watched it, in my mind, I kept coming to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. My Savior. The One who loved us so much, He gave His life up for us, that we might inherit eternal life. The One who gives us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. His shed blood, on the cross, paid for all of our sins. We are not required to shed our own blood. We are not required to die for our own sins.

Jesus Christ is light. He is good. He is hope. He is the truth. Satan is dark. He is bad. He is hopelessness. He is the Father of lies.

There is evil in this world. There is a ruler of this world who hates all human beings. He is out to destroy all people he can destroy. Don’t be fooled. He demands from the people who serve him, their blood and their lives. He is hateful. He sought to dethrone God and take His place. God made hell for satan and his demons. Satan offers us nothing. There may be temporary rewards, but compared to eternity those are very temporary.

Marilyn Monroe is said to have made a contract with the devil. She wanted to be really famous. Well she did become famous, but she died soon after she made her contract and hasn’t been around to enjoy it. Deal with the devil and he’ll deal with you as only a devil can.

God promises eternal life to those who put their faith and trust in Him. Eternal life! A place where moth and rust cannot destroy. A place of streets made of gold. A place God says He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. A place of unimaginable beauty, of peace, of joy.

John Podesta spends his time worshiping the devil. He’s not young. And where will he spend his eternity? He will spend it with the god he worshiped here on earth. He will spend it with the god he thought loved him and gave things to him. This world is dark and getting darker all the time. Jesus Christ is our only hope. He promises us eternal life if we put our faith and trust in Him. He did the shedding of His blood for us. We just need to accept Him.

Compare the two. With Jesus Christ, we have an eternal inheritance of heaven. With satan, you have an eternal inheritance of hell. As for me, I pick the eternal inheritance of heaven.