I too often forget what this sign says ... I, Louise, am a child of God. I was chosen by the Creator of all that is, to be His own. How blessed, happy, fortunate and to be envied am I by those who don't have this privilege. Not everyone does. I am His not by my choosing Him for He choose me long before I could give voice and say "Yes" to His call. I need to stop frequently and think about these things and then give thanks for His great mercy and grace to me. Not only did He choose me, He granted me a precious, life-changing gift ... the Holy Spirit to live within me. I also need to stop and consider that more often than I do. Each time I place my hand upon my chest I need to remember Who lives inside. I am not my own, I have been bought with a price. The blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, has paid for me and cleansed me from all unrighteousness and the life that I now life, I live by faith in the Son of God.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Gal. 2:20

After some thought and consideration I realized that I am not to be dismayed over the recent election. God is the ultimate reason Mr. Obama will be taking office come January. Daniel 2:21 says, "God changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings." Mr. Obama would not be in this position if God did not warrant it. Amen Lord. Your will be done.

I also must again realize that I am not a citizen of this world. I belong to another, my citizenship rests and resides in a place I've yet to see. However, my having not seen it does nothing to negate the fact that's where I'm going to live one day.

A young man spoke at our church Sunday morning and reminded us that even though the election didn't turn out the way we wanted it to, we are still a blessed nation. As he said, we don't have military tanks roaming our streets and we don't have soldiers coming to drag us from our churches and our homes because we name the name of Christ. Because of these blessings we need to be thankful. We need to lift the Name of Jesus at every occasion. We need to give Him praise and honor in all circumstances. We need to glorify Him with who we are and the gifts He's given us. We need to look up and realize that our redemption does draw near.

As the old hymn says "This world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through .. my treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue ..." It's time I lived like I believe that.