{"id":424,"date":"2018-10-23T10:23:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-23T15:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/i-voted-and-im-glad-i-did\/"},"modified":"2019-02-18T10:15:35","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T16:15:35","slug":"i-voted-and-im-glad-i-did","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/?p=424","title":{"rendered":"I Voted, and I’m Glad I Did!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I did it! I voted on the first day of early voting for the mid-term elections. By the way, Texans, you can early vote right through to November 2nd. Outside of Texas, check your state\u2019s early voting times. I stood in line a while with this mama and her sweet baby until I went to the front of the line and asked if they’d let her cut-in. Those folks welcomed her. I was pleased to see the happy faces of so many voting early. I met some really fine people and none of us were discussing our political persuasions. We were all pleased with the opportunity to vote on a beautiful, sunshine-filled day. At least we were all united and in common on that! <\/p>\n

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I never know where I\u2019m going to be in any given day, so why take the chance in missing out on my civic duty and my personal belief that when I vote I\u2019m making a difference? Really? How can my one little vote make a difference in the grand scheme of things? Actually, voting can be a hassle. It takes time to register, learn about the candidates\u2019 views, understand the questions and standing in a long line, knowing all the while that the chances my individual vote will make a difference among the thousands or millions cast are pretty much zero. So, why even bother? <\/p>\n

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I bother because my morals and values are so closely tied to my Christian faith and what God\u2019s Word says. How can we not vote when there are such critical issues of life and death and of God\u2019s Word taken seriously or not? Voting confirms my commitment to stand-up for those morals and values and in so doing I get to choose who aligns or comes the closest with those beliefs. It is a privilege to live in a democracy-led country which enables us to vote in or vote out candidates that align or don\u2019t align with our principles. If I don\u2019t vote I shouldn’t complain or whine about anything that’s going on in our country. <\/p>\n

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The fact is, I’m quite reserved when it comes to my political voice. I have my own opinions but I rarely voice them publicly. That could be seen as a wimpy way out of controversy, or it may mean that I choose to live “above the fray” by recalling my Mama’s favorite quote “If you can’t say something nice, say nothing at all!” Aligning myself with particular political figures has been a private matter for me, especially on social media. I am a professing Christian so my primary voting guide is the Bible. I do my best not to be driven by the media, politics, or personalities, but I carefully weigh out the “heart of the matter”. I weigh out their stances, but I don’t know the true hearts of candidates, so when the time comes to vote, I trust in my tightness with God and His Word: “My sheep know my voice”, and that I’ll hear THAT voice and vote according to what I hear. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m ready for this mid-term election to be over. According to the campaign signs I see in my neighborhood and on the streets, it looks pretty even. It would be wonderful if the election meant an end to the rancor and tackiness. No question, there is deep down angst about the result. What if THAT party takes over the House and\/or Senate? When we wake up November 7th, post-election, when the election is finally over, what will we see?<\/p>\n

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I have a prediction. I know exactly what November 7th will bring. Another day of God\u2019s perfect sovereignty. He will still be in charge. His throne will still be occupied. He will still manage the affairs of the world. Never EVER has His providence depended on a king, president, senator or ruler. \u201cThe LORD can control a king\u2019s mind as He controls a river; He can direct it as He pleases\u201d (Proverbs 21:1). As followers of Jesus, we possess the power and comfort of God\u2019s Promises as we face an unknown election and future for our country. We can ask a different set of questions because we are called to live by a different reality: hope, love, and peace. No matter what happens on November 6th, remember God\u2019s words of encouragement. \u201cDo not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I did it! I voted on the first day of early voting for the mid-term elections. By the way, Texans, you can early vote right through to November 2nd. Outside of Texas, check your state\u2019s early voting times. I stood in line a while with this mama and her sweet baby until I went to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1156,1157,1158,1159,1160,1161,1162,1163,1164,1165,1166,1167,1168,1169],"class_list":["post-424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-christian-faith","tag-civic-duty","tag-do-not-fear","tag-early-voting","tag-election","tag-gods-word","tag-i-voted","tag-isaiah-4110","tag-making-a-difference","tag-mid-term-election","tag-morals-and-values","tag-november-6th","tag-proverbs-211","tag-register"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=424"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8707,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424\/revisions\/8707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypeacezone.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}