Breaking the silence
How do you pray? What do you ask God for? Do you stick to the basic necessities, emergency solutions, and safe travels? Do you ever pray for the things you want? Do you ever just open up and ask God for the desires of you heart? I remember my wife asking me if it would be wrong to ask God for a million dollars. What do you think? Is it wrong to ask God for a million dollars? Is it wrong to ask God for your dream house, dream vacation, the perfect job, or a brand new Ferrari?
Have you ever had your identity stolen? Do you know somebody that has? Identity theft has kind of become the adult version of a true nightmare in recent years. There is only so much you can do to prevent it. It can happen at any time, and if it happens it can do massive amounts of damage in an instant. I had a friend that had his identity stolen, his account overdrawn and it took months to take care of it. He struggled financially during these months because he had to wait for the bank to complete an investigation to take care of the overdraft fees. I have heard of more severe cases that took even longer to fix and at times it is impossible to eliminate all of the damage.
Well, I thought I had put everything that I had to say into “Star Spangled Kaepernick,” but as it turns out, I’m not done with the subject. There seems to be a popular school of thought that Kaepernick needs to “put his money where his mouth is.” For the record, he did announce that he was donating a million dollars to charities that aid communities in need, but just the same, this sentiment confuses and, quite honestly, upsets me a little as well.
In the song “Unanswered Prayers,” by Garth Brooks, the chorus states “some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.” Well Jeremiah 33:3 says “call to me and I will answer you.” So, the idea of unanswered prayers would seem to be false. Don’t worry; I’m not here to tear Garth Brooks apart or to say the song is an attack on Christian beliefs. I actually like the song and I understand when you are writing sometimes a little poetic license is necessary to make it all work. However, this song does help to illustrate the point I want to make.
It’s the middle of the night and everyone is asleep except me. The house is completely silent and the only noises outside are some crickets, A/C’s blowing and the occasional car driving down a street that I can’t see. I love the night. I love the quiet. It’s the type of quiet that somehow makes me feel completely alone and right at home at the same time. Some may think I love the night because I have 3 small children that are anything but quiet when they are awake. The truth is I’ve always loved the night; I’ve always been a night owl.
Before I even begin, I feel like I should probably state that what I am about to say is probably not going to be all that popular. Although when I first heard about it, I shared the same sentiments that so many others seem to have. How disgusting. That is absolutely disrespectful. What a jerk! I can’t believe he would do something so absurd. Clearly, I am speaking of Colin Kaepernick not standing for the Star Spangled Banner. I was appalled just like so many others. In shock that a man that was making millions of dollars in an American sport would choose to sit out during the National Anthem. However, over the last week I have had time to think not to mention countless Facebook posts, news articles, and blog posts to read on the subject. Apparently, this is the hottest subject in the world right now.