China, the President and board games

Alright...here comes another somewhat random post. I must confess that I am having a hard time blogging lately (even though I have had an increase in free time), and I think the biggest reason is because I am struggling with what to write about. Hopefully I will have some inspiration in the coming weeks and months. I am currently on vaction for Chinese New Year, and am looking forward to a trip to China. I am heading to Beijing on Sunday for 5 days of vacation. It's supposed to be cold(although not quite Iowa cold), with the lows dipping below freezing, which I have not experienced in years. I think the most exciting thing about this trip is the chance to see some truly historical sites, such as the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and possibly Mao's body. Too much excitement for a history major. I'll take lots of pictures. :)

Speaking of history, I would like to recognize the historic step that took place in America this past week, when Barak Obama became the first African American president. I do think this is a great thing and deserves recognition, I also was pondering this week the extent to which President Obama is feeling pressure by being in this position. I was contemplating that being he is carrying the torch for African Americans into the White House, and that this could bring extra pressure as he sets the tone and breaks the color barrier. I think back to people like Jackie Robinson and the pressure and challenges he faced being the first high profile African American in Major League Baseball. As a president, Mr. Obama's actions will be scrutinized and examined under a microscope, as his popularity with the country and media dwindles. Is it possible that him being the first black president will further intensify this? Or is the presidency enough of a challenge in itself and will race not be in the forefront of his thoughts? I don't have an exact answer, but I would imagine being the first black president would bring some extra pressure...I just don't know how much. Just something to ponder.

Either way...I am cautiously optimistic. I know that I don't agree with Mr. Obama on ever issue, especially ones regarding the rights of babies...however I feel like he is a president that genuinely wants to help the country and find solutions to the problems. I believe that he wants to be practical and work in a bi-partisan manner to meet the country's needs. Partisanship is one of my biggest concerns with American politics and I really believe Mr. Obama when he says he wants to go across party lines. I feel our country needs leadership like this during times of war and economic hardship.

I was able to stay up and listen to his inagural speech. It was 1:00 am out here, but I am on vacation and thought it was worth losing the sleep over. I think what I appreciated most is how he called on Americans to individually take responsibility and do their parts. He followed this by outlining acts of kindness or hospitality that can be done in every day life, and I am glad he outlined the importance of this for the individual.

To me, this is a great parallel to what God calls us to do. We need to carry the torch of Christ into our cities, communitiies, and neighborhoods. It is easy for us to depend on others to do this, when we ourselves could make a difference. We can share Jesus through actions of love, caring, and kindness...through words of encouragement and comfort. And most importantly, through sharing the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Like President Obama said, our work of sharing love should not be something we "grudgingly accept", but rather be something we "sieze gladly." I pray that Christ will fill us with this desire to gladly sieze the opportunities to spread His love to this dark world.

Ok...that's all for the deep stuff. Today was a fun, lazy day of watching TV and playing board games. The highlight would have to be the 3-4 hour game of monopoly, which finally ended with a victorious Kevin Foley bankrupting me...sort of. I had taken over for Michael when he got bored of playing, but I represented his monopolies strong until the end. But alas, it was not enough to gain total monetary control of the board. As we were playing, I remembered all of the board games I played as a kid, Sorry, Clue, Candy Land, and of course Monopoly. Good memories and a good chance to relax on vaction. Praise God!