Father-Daughter Talk 

I received an email...

A rather gentle explanation of the difference in thinking between people
with opposite outlooks.

A young woman was about to finish her first year of college.  Like so
many others her age, she considered herself to be very liberal, and
among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to
support more government programs, in other words redistribution of
wealth.

She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch
conservative, a feeling she openly expressed.  Based on the lectures
that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor,
she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire
to keep what he thought should be his.

One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes
on the rich and the need for more government programs.

The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be
the truth and she indicated so to her father.  He responded by asking
how she was doing in school.

Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and
let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was
taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which
left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew.  She
didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many
college friends because she spent all her time studying.

Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing?"

She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by.  All she takes are easy
classes, she never studies and she barely has a 2.0 GPA.  She is so
popular on campus; college for her is a blast.  She's always invited to
all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes
because she's too hung over."

Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's
office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend
who only has a 2.0.  That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly
that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."

The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired
back, "That's a crazy idea, how would that be fair!  I've worked really
hard for my grades!  I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard
work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree.  She played
while I worked my tail off!"

The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, "Welcome to the
conservative side of the fence."

If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a great
test!

If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for
everyone.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his
situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and Jesus silenced.

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping
for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a
good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he's "offended."

Well, I forwarded it to you.

Just a couple thoughts I had reading this. I see where this is coming from and it's mostly in reference to the politics in Washington. I'm sure we understand that not all liberals are demons and all conservatives are angels. Emails like this are "hasty generalizations" which just produce hate and a closed mind to what others might have to say. My parents also send me emails like this from time to time that really demonize the other and I try to let them know I don't buy the whole "chain-email-that-damns-the-other." I think both sides in Washington are demons and every now and then someone from either side has a good idea. I'm not in favor of socialism or Obamanomics however this email makes out everyone who is a liberal to be lazy and bigoted. I know many liberals who are hard working, God fearing people and to me these friends vote the way they do because of certain convictions concerning education and or the cycle of poverty. I  agree with this story and I do think the father has a great lesson. However, what if Audrey wasn't a partier but rather a girl in a wheel chair...or Audrey came from an abusive family who did drugs and she was trying to break the generational chain that's been given to her but no matter how hard she works, she cannot make the grade because she's also trying to break the addictions that were passed to her from her parents? Any kind of help would be great. Maybe the daughter doesn't just enable but actually sacrifices her own time and own grades to help Audrey feel more confident about herself and school work. Sometimes I wonder if this isn't the heart behind the "liberal" thought. Obviously it gets very complicated and sticky beyond any kind of easy fix anyone on earth can offer. (I mean this sentence not as "only God can fix it", but literally as -anyone on earth.) I see emails like this really just as name calling because it doesn't fix what either side is going after. Plus, anyone could look at this email and say that conservatives are all about entitlement which is a big problem in this country. Everything we have is from God. The earth is not ours. The resources it contains are not ours. The cattle on the hill are not ours. Our family is not ours. We are just stewards of it all. I believe sin is global problem because we all have a hard time hitting the target of Jesus' teaching (which is the root definition of sin). So we do our part. And, yes, there is too much government. Government can't fix all of these problems. The Church can though. The Church, in my own definition, is the people who want to see "good" be creatively inspired in everything and everyone. I believe this is what God wanted when he created this whole place. Read Genesis 1 and 2. I believe this inspiration is wired in all of us but we are too convoluted to see it. BUT, sometimes we catch a glimpse of this light in others and ourselves. So, I say stop the name calling and pass on to others what Christ calls us to. "For you are Children of light. We are not of darkness." -Eph 5:5  Instead of sending chain emails and provoking others to one side, let us put our energy into breaking chains and setting people free. 

A Christmas to Remember

Christmas 2011 was our first Christmas. The season started a bit earlier than most years. I'm an advocate of not listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving but this year was an exception. Annie and I made a trip to my home in Nebraska to help my dad brand his 12 calves. While we were home, my mom asked if we could put up some Christmas lights before we left. The decorating put a sense of Christmas in the air and on the way home to Denver, Annie and listened to a few Christmas songs (Coldplay - "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and  a few others.) The following weekend was Thanksgiving in Grand Junction with Annie's parents and the food was amazing! Our families have such similar traditions, especially when it comes to food. The Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend found us back on the east side of the rockies hunting for a Christmas Tree in the Buffalo Creek area! It took about two hours to find a good tree and when we finally found one I didn't want to cut it down because it was such a beautiful tree in a lonely area. Annie reminded me that if we didn't cut it down, someone else would. And, Alexis told me that though it is sad to cut down a tree, "every tree aspires to be a 'Christmas Tree!'" So that makes me feel better that we could bring this beautiful tree into our home and "bedeck" it.

The following weekend was the Parade of lights on 16th street mall. That was just a festive event to further throw us into the Christmas spirit. Annie and I used up a gift card for Maggiano's that we received for our wedding. It was an awesome date!

On the 11th, we hosted a Christmas party at our apartment. Many of Annie's friends from the Springs made up to D-Town. We also had a few friends from church stop in. Annie and I made chilli for the party and it was soo good. We also went to the Denver Zoo for the zoo lights before the party. I was pretty impressed with the Denver Zoo lights. I have seen zoo lights in Phoenix, Chicago, and Toledo and Denver's was probably the best. This was the same weekend Mom and Dad Rutledge were in town so we joined them and Nate and Sarah at Mona's for Breakfast and the following morning we joined them again at the Brown Palace where they stayed for the Christmas Party.

On the 15th, Annie and I traveled to Chicago to experience the Magic of the Windy City at Christmas. What an amazing trip that turned out to be. Chicago was not a disappointment on any level. We flew into Midway and took the orange line into the city, transferred to the brown line and got off on Chicago Ave. near Moody. We began in the commons where we ran into Jill Doyle. Annie and I had a burger and it was an accurate representation of Moody hamburgers.  We then ventured to the Sweeting building to see if any professors were around. Just one. Dr. Sauer. What a blessing it was to snag some time with him. A full two hours! I feel like we thoroughly caught up on life since graduation...concerning relationships. By the end of our time together he knew all about our background together and we knew all about holding our relationship out in open palms up to God. Annie and I are temporary gifts to each other and God is most important. If we keep Him as our number one priority, our marriage will last.

Dr. Sauers collection of sharp pencil. It's the pencil that was always held in his "open palm" example.

I had to pretend to be "Flagpoled" since it never happened while I was at Moody.

After showing Annie the rest of campus, we walked down to Michigan Ave. and checked into our hotel. We then walked to Clark street to catch a bus north to Lincoln Park where we would eat dinner at The Basil Leaf Cafe. After dinner, we had coffee at the Bourgeois Pig then headed back to the hotel. Day Two in Chicago began with a walk to Starbucks on Rush to have breakfast and then a stroll down the lake path to Navy Pier. We ate lunch that day at Food Life, a unique food court in Water Tower Place.

I studied at this Starbucks many times.

Water Tower Place Mall

Then, we scurried down Michigan Ave for our underground history tour of Chicago. We both learned so much about the worlds 3rd most influential city (or sixth depending on who you talk to).  After the tour we walked by the new Trump Tower then that evening met the also newly wed Brian and Stephanie for Giordano's (second to Lou Malnatis but closer for all of us) for Chicago's deep dish pizza. The four of us had drinks at the Signature Lounge on the 96 floor of the Hancock building.

Largest Tiffany Glass dome in the world - Chicago Cultural Center

Our history tour

Trump Tower

Rocks from around the world on the walls of the Tribune building

Brian and Stephanie Geier with us in front of the Hancock Center Tree

View from our hotel room

Kris Kringle Market

 Saturday we slept in, had a quick breakfast at Einstein's and then head to Ogilvie station to catch a train to Winetka where we walked though a beautiful neighborhood in the falling snow to the Home Alone house at 671 Lincoln Ave.

Home ALone House

These guys were just little kids when I was in college

Marshall Fields Macy's

 We checked out of the hotel and ate dinner that evening at Portillo's (a freshman favorite in college). That evening we took an El/bus combo to get to Dan and Tara's but we rode the bus about ten stops too long because the driver forgot to tell us where our stop was. Once we made it to Dan and Tara's house in Logan Park we chatted with Tara, then fell asleep quickly. Annie and I were very encouraged and challenged by our conversations with Dan and Tara. They are really in the thick of trial and learning about the Kingdom of God as they journey through life as foster parents and work closely with orphans and struggling families. Sunday, we went to church with them at The Line  , which meets in an Irish Pub called The Abby, where we also got reacquainted with Bethany Keena, another old friend from Moody. The teaching and music were great and we were also able to get acquainted with Jon and Val Guerra who introduced to us our favorite Christmas music of this season! Annie and I were able to experience most of the song, "It's Almost Christmas, Chicago!" After eating lunch with Bethany and some others at The Abby, we took the Blue Line back downtown and met Brittany Rost (a former student in my youth group who also attended Moody) and then we all met up with Aaron Goodrich (Indiana coworker) and his youth group from Michigan and walked down Michigan avenue and then had dinner at Chipotle with them before Brittany took us back to the airport. What a fun and timely trip!

Portillos was a favorite hot dog place in college.

We both loved the Garrett's Popcorn

Brittany met us downtown. She and Annie had the same jacket.

     When we arrived back in Denver, our friend Blake was still at our place. He spent the weekend skiing with friends and used our place as home base. After a few more days of work, it was north to Nebraska for the family Christmas. Annie and I are both very blessed to be close to our family so anytime we get to be with them it never seems to be enough time. Alexis flew in and out of Denver so we got to take her around town which ended up being a shopping trip to REI. Since I had to work on the morning of the 26th, Annie and I brought Jakob, Josh, and Jon back to Denver with us. Annie showed them the sites around the city and we all at an excellent burger at City Grill on Colfax. The following morning we met Mom and Grandma Esther and Alexis in Reunion.  Mom took the boys and I took Alexis and Grandma to the airport.

That evening, Annie and I had a really nice meal and we opened presents from her side of the family for an extended Christmas celebration. The Christmas music continues at our place as we plan on getting the full 12 days of Christmas in. What a beautiful season to celebrate all that is good in the world because a baby was born. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17)  Our first Christmas, Christmas 2011 was a really great one. One to be remembered.