Achuckallen

Instigating Better

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America Must Change These 3 Things

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“God Bless America, Land that I Love”

Today’s article is not a political musing! This article is about the three essential changes that America MUST correct if we remain the most prosperous and blessed nation on the planet. There are hundreds of other issues to address, but if I could somehow influence our leaders, I would start with these three.

I would consider myself a patriot. I unashamedly love America. I tear up at the National Anthem. I marvel at our beginnings. Throughout this great land, we have had some pretty bad seasons and some pretty remarkable, heroic recoveries.

We need one of those recoveries right now. We can’t wait much longer. With the new transition of President-Elect Biden, we cannot afford to spend our next four years bickering and feuding over silly, partisan crap! Lord knows that’s what we’ve spent the past three decades doing. Bush fought with Dems. Clinton fought with Elephants. Bush fought with the left, Obama fought with the right. Trump fought with everybody, and now I fear Biden will go to war with the Republicans and hopefully combat the far-left socialist wing of his party. But we have to stop fighting among ourselves and discover some wholesome goodness to attack together.

These three things are non-negotiable as we attempt to recover from a long year of COVID-19, racial unrest, civil unrest, riots, looting, and economic hardships for families across almost every sector of American life. By the way, if you disagree with these three, that’s more than okay. The question I would ask you is, what are three of your ideas to make America all she can be?

1. We Must Find Common Ground to Build On

I don’t say this lightly, but I cannot say it loud enough. We must come together for the greater good. Our broken political, educational, spiritual, and financial systems are dying from a lack of common purpose and the greater good. There was a day when we rallied around a familiar opponent and joined together to conquer that obstacle. Today, that obstacle is ourselves. We are the house divided, and the walls are crumbling. Not because of presidents, members of Congress, or senators, but because of our lack of common purpose and open, shared accountability.


“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions
of its members.”
—Coretta Scott King

The common good is and should be
focused on three areas.

Education. Put our kids first, and get our educational systems in the top three in the world in science, math, reading, and technology. If a traditional education path isn’t for a kid, then have skill-based education that can raise a generation of steelworkers, welders, artisans, artists, and builders. Education must become a central theme of rediscovering the wonder of this great land!

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Education is the first step for people to gain the knowledge, critical thinking, empowerment and skills they need
to make this world a better place.”
– Nelson Mandela.

2. We Must Solve Our Desperate Debt Load

Never before have we faced a reckoning like the one we face as we look at a continually escalating debt. As of this writing, the national debt of the United States is more than $27,265,000,000,000. That is more than $218,000 per taxpayer and almost $90,000 per US citizen.

Payday is coming, but we MUST reel in our spending. I’m not a nationalist in the sense that we should button down everything except what we spend in the States, but we cannot continue to fund the world. Pet projects are at the heart of this crisis. The reason pet projects exist is the ongoing political system in Washington. If your future and sustainability are dependent upon reelection, you will – by human tendency – please who you need to for reelection. Term limits and complete transparency on pork-laden bills of legislation much stop!

“We don’t have a trillion-dollar debt because we
haven’t taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt
because we spend too much.”
― Ronald Reagan

3. We Must Recover our Patriotism and Honor

When we were fighting the Nazis and were drawn into World War II, we knew our enemy. We rallied around an American pride that leads to Americans fighting for Americans and fighting a common enemy. In the war on Communism, we knew who we were attempting to defeat. In the war on terrorism, we knew we were in a common fight. The days following 9/11 brought us to common ground.

But what if we need common patriotism as opposed to “common complainism?” I know that’s not a word, but you got the picture. We are at war! We are at war with a world that does not see the freedoms and American ideals as essential. We are in a battle for our republic and the democracy that it upholds.

Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men have died to win them.”

Somehow, someway, we must engage a different bank of leaders. America is in desperate need of leaders without political aspiration, but aspirations of selfless service. We need to return to a people with a vision for freedom and equality, but not at the sake of losing the soul of our country.

Loving your country shouldn’t be a label by which you are considered old fashioned, out of touch, or simple-minded. Loving your country should call out the best of us and mold us into leaders that influence what is good, healthy, and wise.

Why not return to the days of American exceptionalism? Why not return a sense of pride in our great country? The answer? PRIDE & SELFISHNESS. We seem to all want our rights, the credit, and our due. The truth is that we need to return the “In God We Trust” to our hearts and actions, not just our currency. Jesus had a good word for our leaders and ourselves. “Whoever wants to be great among you, let him become a servant to all.”

“In the beginning of a change, the patriot
is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him,
for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.”
—Mark Twain

I know there are so many things to work on, but this country is worth it. She is worthy of laying down our logos and our egos to serve our children and their future well. She is worthy of course-correcting our out-of-control waste and spending. And she is most undoubtedly worth serving others in the name of righteousness and goodness.

When I think of race relations, economic challenges, political upheaval, civil unrest, riots, looting, and a pandemic, I realize how urgency has taken center stage with these issues. But friends, we must start attacking these issues shortly or we will crumble as a society. Our kids and grandkids need us to fix our mess.

-AChuck

So Much for Super-Spreader Events

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So Much for Super-Spreader Events by Chuck Allen

Not that we need any further opinions on the pandemic, but both sides seem to be tossing verbal grenades at one another regarding gathering in large crowds. With masks, or without masks, we all need to take a breath.

The problem with lobbing hand grenades at whoever those other folks are, is you have to be willing for it to come back to you. Verbal sparring isn’t a new phenomenon, but it seems to be brand new in each political cycle.

The Blue side was stunned that the Red side would meet in those arenas and stadiums to get fired up in their rally. Each media site that leaned blue just had to use the term “super-spreader.” But then the Blue team won, and the Red team threw a hardy “well look at them.” I couldn’t hear super-spreader after hearing “Na-na-na-na-na.”

Our political systems reak of the rot left in the wake of our foul-mouthed hatred and venom.

Here’s a thought. How about we determine that we all have sinned in our past, and we ALL have a history. That we also (hopefully) grow and develop the ability to speak the truth and know the truth, and live in reality. No, seriously. Okay, one can hope.

Let’s get back to the point. When it comes to calling out the other side like a pair of toddler twins, be careful what you scream about. It always comes around to bite you in the butt.

Jesus had a word for the most self-righteous folks that were ready to stone a young lady that had made some deplorable choices with her life. He said, “If you have no sins, yourself, throw the first stone.” OUCH! That had to have left a mark! It should leave a mark on us as well.

Can’t we clean up our junk, bitterness, anger, and insecurities – Before we go into attack mode? I hate it when I violate this rule. I always pay the price, someday, someway. Jesus has this way of reminding us that we love to point out the dust in somebody else’s house while we have mold on the dirty dishes in our sink.

Here are two good rules to follow when we want to toss our “gotchas.”

  1. STOP! Give yourself three seconds to determine if what you are about to say will help the situation at all? If not, hang onto it and drop it in the mental trash can.
  2. Remember that you might need to take a quick peek into your past or even your future. Is it possible that these words are coming back like an Australian boomerang and will potentially decapitate you?

Have a great day! Remember your dishes and count the cost of your words. You’ll be so glad that you did.

Peace, AChuck

Ps. See you tomorrow on the 4forFRIDAY!

 

 

Who is the President, and Now What?

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by Chuck Allen

Who is the President, and Now What? By ACHUCKAllen

It’s the craziest season I’ve ever seen. Presidential election foolishness. Pandemic politicization and zero civility in this great land of ours. Here are a few thoughts on where we go from here:

Holy cow! Amid a worldwide pandemic that has affected every human on the planet, we here in America chose to focus our airtime and smack talk on whether or not you wear a mask in your car. I cannot bring myself to believe the left or right conspiracy theories. I refuse to bite on the idea that the President can still win, regardless of my vote. I am, however, confident that the president has the right to recount and investigate. If they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt, in court, that the election was stolen, then you’ve got that opportunity. The same was said four years ago. If you cannot prove that, then move on and let’s fight and scream as we change sides over the next four years.

The real question is, how will people of faith respond, regardless of their vote? My encouragement? Pray for our leaders. Get involved and serve your community, or stop your griping, mostly if you didn’t vote. If you aren’t in the arena, I beg you to hush. Speak the truth when in a place to make a difference. Speak with grace and with graciousness. Stop the hate speech, and get busy serving and making a difference. We must stop this barb throwing and hate-mongering or we will never move beyond the stagnation built over meaningless, petty political bickering.

Let us stand up these next few years as adults and let the childish rhetoric remain seated. Honestly, I voted for Trump. I didn’t vote for the President because of his personality. I voted for unborn babies. I voted for recovering our economy. I voted for economic and educational advancement for my black and brown neighbors. I voted for judge appointments like the three Justices appointed over the past four years. I voted for a bullish stock market, less corporate regulation, law enforcement, and several other policies. I didn’t vote for Twitter tantrums, foul-mouthed rants, bullying, gross depictions of brown people seeking asylum in America, or the constant banter across aisles.

But if you didn’t agree with me or my vote, that is more than okay! You, as a fellow American citizen, HAVE THAT RIGHT!! Your vote doesn’t define you. It is your opinion. For any of us to place any other human in a cubbyhole of hate resulting from their vote is horrible.

Where do we go from here?
If you are a Democrat, pray for the president, serve your community, make a difference.
If you are a Republican, pray for the president, serve your community, make a difference.
If you are an American, pray that we have better candidates that will run for the land’s highest office. Don’t surrender your mind to the pundits that preach their biased and baseless rancor. Pray and stand for democracy, free markets, safe vaccines, the restored order in our streets, and the women and men that fight for our freedoms.

As for me, I am determined to hunker down and get even more involved in making where I live and lead a far better place than it is today. Are you with me?

Peace, Chuck

I’m Offended!

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I’m Offended by AChuckAllen

Everywhere I turn, somebody has been offended. Each time that I watch the news, there are people offended and often another group of people taking up their offenses.

Come on, folks! We live in a world of diversity. We have diverse backgrounds, education, skin color, and spiritual maturity. As a result, we live in conflict. There it is! That awful “C-word,” CONFLICT! But, I don’t think we are dying from conflict, we are slowly dying from misdirected and mismanaged conflict. Wherever you are and whatever you do, is done in the sphere of diversity. And, wherever diversity exists, conflict is close behind.

We, as independent people, love our freedoms, especially when everyone agrees with us. But then life happens. Someone sees the world differently that you do, and BAM! Our diversity then becomes conflict.

We seem to be able to work together. Why then, can we not think together? Because conflict always exists, whether we verbalize or stuff it. The simple recognition that God created us uniquely should give us the catalyst to understand that we look differently, respond differently, and lead differently. Why in the world would we believe that we would not think and speak differently?

I am attempting to control my heart, and I’ve asked the Divine to guide me through this season. You know why? Well, thanks for asking. It is because I have no hope of understanding my heart, much less, changing it without God’s Spirit directing it.

We must stop being offended about everything that someone does or says. Remember that conflict is always present, so don’t take the bait. Refuse to buy into the lies that everyone has a deep and dark agenda to rob you of some freedom or right.

Ask your Creator to do a work within you that will soften your heart with empathy and sincerity, and see how differently this world of conflict is from the life God has directed us to live. Ask your Creator to thicken your skin, so you will not be the victim of everything somebody says.

The foolish, binary thoughts that we must live on the fringes of our ideals with simple yes/no questions leaves no room for us to create our own thoughts and convictions. If all we do is regurgitate someone else’s opinions, we are buying into the lies that the far right or far left has all the answers. That’s a steaming pile of poop!

Lay down your idealistic, emotional boo-boo’s and battle weary pitchforks long enough to develop an “up close” perspective. The further removed from something, the easier it is to take up an offense that was never about you. The longer we remain distanced from the problem, person or statement, we seem to be more offended. The closer we get to the statement, person or problem, the easier it is to develop sympathy, solutions and empathy for the person, problem or activity.

This overly simple, three step, mental activity will save you years of heartache and the temptation to become a statistic filled with rage and no healthy way to release that anger.

1) Live in the Spirit as He lives in you. 2) Offer grace and the reality that you may not know the whole story. 3) Discipline your soul to NOT pick up an offense unless it is personally directed at you and you can deal with it in love and preferably in person. Otherwise, let it go, let it go, let it go!

The real battle isn’t what, or who are offended by, the real battle is between your ears. I’ve discovered that when I am grateful, thoughtful, transparent, and grace-filled, I can lay those offenses down so much easier. How about you?

Go in Peace,
AChuck

Don’t miss a single day of my Weekday Podcast. Just 5 minutes/day and 5 days/week will deliver to your inbox a “Cup of Encouragement.”

A Message for America

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A Message for America by AChuckAllen

What a stinking mess we have in America today! I am talking with folks from radically diverse backgrounds, faith systems, educational experiences, and social status, and this is what I keep hearing: “Why is everything so hard and so bitter in America today?” They may not articulate it in those exact words, but that is at the heart of so many people that call this great country, home.

Maybe you have been sheltered in place so long that you have your left or right political bent welded to your soul, but me? Well, I am on the hunt for a voice of reason in this political season of hatred. I cannot believe that the advisors and ego prompters that most of our national candidates have around them are encouraging this silliness. There is no possible way that Americans truly want our political voices to remain so binary that there is no voice of reason remaining in the contest.

We can do better. We must do better. And, by God’s grace, we will do better. Our very constitution and way of American life are literally at stake. Think with me about your Congressional district; 1) Are there any voices of reason, or are the candidates wallowing in the same mud puddle? 2) Have each of the remaining candidates locked their campaign with the presidential candidate? 3) Have your options for Congress left you thinking, “Is that really the best that my country offers? 4)) Is there any person running for a national office that has been able to stay above the fray of the media bate to trash the other opponent?

Let me say it again: We can do better. We must do better. And, by God’s grace, we will do better. Making the changes that are required in the House, Senate and the White House requires more than your vote. Your vote is vital, but your action is what will make this nation the city on the hill that President Reagan spoke of. His reference taken from the Scriptures is where we will find that voice of reason.

The origin of the phrase, “City on a Hill,” is found in Matthew 5: 14-16
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.“

If you want to make the changes necessary to return to and become that city on a hill, then write your leaders, pray for your leaders. Speak up to your leaders. But, please speak with the voice of reason. Have a convictional, and original thought regarding your part of this great republic. What do you think about the appointment of judges? What do you think about abortion? What do you think about healthcare, Obamacare, and national healthcare? What do you think about our national debt? What would you do about immigration?

You cannot complain and whine about the political and societal mess in America unless you codify your opinions and beliefs. Don’t be a screamer with someone else’s opinions. Form your own. Then speak to the problems with solution and well-founded, original thoughts.

Let your light so shine!

–AChuck

Open When?

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Open When? by AChuckAllen

Let’s face it, if we open too soon, the critics will be screaming. If we open too slowly, the critics will be screaming. So, just to play the role of Captain Obvious here, no matter what you do, someone is going to be screaming at you. Got it!

But that isn’t the end of the story. This “I caught you doing something wrong” mentality that we have allowed to spring out of glorified shock-jock media entertainers is pressing us into a powder keg that is ready to explode. You pick almost any subject, then google that subject and you’ll discover that America is roughly 50-50. Split right down the middle on almost every topic other than we need to rebound from this shutdown…safely.

To do so requires we Americans to fight back and press on. Fight back, not at your governor, or your president, but fight back against the insane rhetoric that is spewed from both sides of the media aisles. Americans need a voice of reason, and that voice is already in many of us. Why can we not regulate what we are willing to listen and watch with a better intent than watching a train wreck. Have we not learned that counting on Washington is a fool’s errand? Have we not recognized the foolish hate talk thrown around the newsroom?

The answers are not to be found in the halls of Congress. The solutions will not be discovered in the offices of senators. I can promise you that the answers will not be found in the pundits that propagate shouting matches as to who is worse.

The answers we seek are found in Americans truly trusting that the Divine Creator of the Universe is waiting on us to seek Him first and in all our ways acknowledge that He is God and we are not. The odd thing about that is that it costs us nothing to stop, take an accurate inventory of our situation and know that whether it is a pandemic, economic collapse, or a fully public moral failure, our Creator is the only way out of the present mess. I know that seems like a simple man’s answer, but I would argue that it is a thinking person’s answer.

  • If we are to admit who our Creator is, we have step one.
  • If we are to acknowledge that all wisdom comes from on high, we have step two.
  • If we were to seek that wisdom, He promises to faithfully grant that wisdom, step three.
  • If we were to admit, acknowledge and seek, we then could eagerly obey, step four.
  • If we were to obey, we might just fall to our knees and offer proper praise and thanks for the fact that the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit has heard our prayer. That we might just turn from our self-filled ways and hear from Him…Then we would hear from Heaven and will be forgiven our sins and our land would be restored. There it is, step five.

Simple, right? So, when should we open? Do I need to go back through numbers 1-5 again? Let’s be ready to open the second He gives us the green light. Should we happen to be bright enough to actually follow these steps, what an awesome way to return to our places of worship, and continue streaming our message, and care for those in need and maximize our efforts to love people with the life-altering message of Christ.

Go in Peace,
AChuck

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