My Heart for America: A Vlog on Unity and Being Bold as Lions

Hey friends! I’ve got a message for you this week. This week, I’ll share with you my perspective as a former Washington insider; now outsider. There is a lot of talk about unity with the new administration and pointing fingers at “outsiders.” So listen or watch as we talk about what real unity is and how it’s okay to be an “outsider.” In fact, it’s important to be bold as a lion in your faith. You’ll want to get your Bible out and go to Ephesians.

FOR VIDEO:

The You Tube is below. But you can also watch it on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/50804790

FOR THE PODCAST:

Website : https://tuneinwithmeredith.buzzsprout.com/
Episode : https://tuneinwithmeredith.buzzsprout.com/936544/7674046-tiwm-eps-29-my-for-america-unity-and-being-bold-as-lions

Below are also my show notes. (They aren’t exactly what I said but you get the general message).

Hey everyone, I want to share with you “My Heart for America.” It probably comes from my Dad who was a true patriot who loved America and really passed that down to me. Since I left Washington and worked for President Bush in the White House, it doesn’t really go along with a lot of the views of many of my former co-workers. But I’ve learned to be okay with that because I’m not really an insider anyway, never really was. My dad was an insider, and got me the job on President Bush’s capping right out of college and I’m grateful because I wouldn’t be who I am today without it. For a while I wasn’t grateful but today I am grateful.

 But I never really “fit.” I was never really passionate about politics like the people I worked alongside and it wasn’t the business I dreamed of getting into. I always kinda wanted to be a writer but never really thought I could do it.. But that’s where God put me. I learned a lot, met a lot of people; but it’s not who I am today. 

I  am proud of who I’ve become. I certainly never expected my life would go as it has. I’m a God loving, church-going, recovering, wife, mom and stepmom living in the Midwest, married to a guy who drives a truck and works at a plant. I absolutely love it here. It’s who I am.  So what I share with you today reflects the woman I’ve become since I left Washington. My perspective has completely changed. I am conservative yes. I love the Lord and I stand behind Trump.  Yes, I said it. You don’t like it? You can stop listening because you probably won’t hear what I’m going to say anyway. But I do wish you all the best in your journey.

I’m sharing this because I believe God put me in that insider world so I can give you a different perspective from the outside looking in. 

So let’s talk about that “outsider” perspective because it’s not just me who feels it. There seems to be this force that is trying to push out people who don’t agree with the “insider” narrative and I’m not talking about one party. It’s both parties.. You can see it all over the news and social media. People getting banned from platforms or censored. There is no free speech anymore. There is no accountability with what’s true in the news media.

It’s funny because I was watching the old movie Runaway Bride from 1999 and in it Richard Gere plays this journalist who ends up getting fired because he was reporting about this chick in this small town in Maryland that kept running away from weddings and he gets fired because she write a letter to the paper that what he said wasn’t true. So they fired him because it wasn’t fully true. Yeah, I don’t think that’s how our press is today. I digress. It was a really good example of the way it used to be and isn’t now.

But “insiders” expect “outsiders” to tow the party line. If you don’t, you’ve got to go. In fact there are people calling those who support Trump fascists, extremists and I’m not even going to mention the last one that starts with a T. But I worked in the White House on 9/11. I ran out of the building. I was part of the fire drills after that happened. It’s no joke. I know what those are, and we are FAR from that so that concept. It just makes me sick to my stomach. But that’s what the enemy loves to do – DIVIDE AMERICA – and He’s getting more viscous by the day with the name calling!  You gotta have some pretty thick skin these days!

But here’s the thing — 

Didn’t Trump run on being an “outsider” and over 75 million people voted for him this second time around? I don’t think people who don’t like the way Washington is being run right now really have a problem being called “outsiders” because so many have felt like outsiders, so many have felt like their voice hasn’t been heard. 

The American people who support Trump already feel like “outsiders” and the fact that someone was BOLD enough to go into the swamp and change it, emboldens them. 

 So it doesn’t surprise me that so many Washington insiders on both sides of the aisle want Trump out and anyone who supports because insiders don’t want outsiders in.

If you’ve ever been rejected or left out, you get this. If you are comfortable in your own skin, you are just fine with being an outsider.  Here’s what I want to tell you if you are not.

You’ve got to get comfortable with being an “outsider”. Embrace it. Be okay with people making fun of you and the fact that you don’t fit their mold.  Stand up for yourself and your convictions. I’m not saying start arguments like they want you to do. I’m saying be true to yourself and the God you serve. Don’t back down. This is not the time to just go with it. This is the time to STAND UP.

And when I say stand up, I mean stand firm. Be bold as a lion in the face of adversity. 

Turn to scripture. Turn to God. He is your strength in adversity.

So let’s just look at scripture for a minute. 

When I say STAND FIRM, I mean,

“Put on the full armor of God, so that we will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.” If you don’t know what that is go read about the armor of God in the Bible in Ephesians 6. Because he IS scheming! He is after every detail of our lives and would love for us just to conform to society’s ideal of “UNITY”! Yeah we’re going there.

You KNOW it’s all about Hashtag “unity” right now. Is that computing with you? because it isn’t computing for me! That’s because if you know the Lord you don’t hear that word the same way the general public does. It’s like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. 

It’s like – We’re going to put this word out there and if you don’t agree with HOW we’re putting it out there, then you aren’t unifying with us. But we all know there is nothing unifying about it. It’s like we’re just supposed to just turn a blind eye to the inauthenticity of this and accept it.

Nope. Not so much. In fact, let’s go to Ephesians 4 and look at what Scripture says about unity. 

 Paul wrote this book when he was imprisoned in Rome. In chapter 4, he specifically talks about unity. Read Ephesians 6:1-3.

“…Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Now, that tells me the Holy Spirit is the one who unites through peace. That’s why the #hashtag unite doesn’t work, because it’s false. But people and organizations of this world often promise, try to promise things that only God can deliver. But what we have to do is discern that, and we do that by unifying together and going deeper into the Word and getting deeper into our faith. We’re not going to get that unity by looking to a new administration proclaiming it. We’re going to get that from Christ through the Holy Spirit. So let me just keep reading.

Read Ephesians 4: 4-6.

ONE. Unity. One. Unity.

I’m going to Read you verses 7-13.

Now let’s listen to verses 14-16.

Did you catch that, “the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming,”? We need to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace and GROW UP INTO HIM WHO IS THE HEAD, THAT IS CHRIST.

We EACH have a role to play in the body of Christ.

We’re in the end times people. This is not the time to put your faith on the back burner. This is the time to STEP IT UP. You cannot go this journey alone. You need people who believe how you believe and are walking with you.

Now let me just say one thing. There’s a lot of talk about there about Christians and evangelicals making Trump is this god. Yeah, no. That’s not what we think. We don’t worship false gods. If we are true believers we know full well, God is above all and He is God and He puts broken people, He uses imperfect people to change the world. Trump isn’t perfect. We all know that. Whether you love him or you hate him he is imperfect. But God doesn’t use perfect people. Now I don’t know how that works with Biden being President right now. I don’t know what God’s up to. So don’t start to infer on what I’m saying. But I know he’s got a bigger plan than we can think. This is why we have to be bold in our faith, bold as lions. I’m getting more to that.

This brings me back to that outsiders. I think those of us who stand by our convictions really have no problem being outsiders. We know it’s not “cool” today to believe in God. It’s not the “popular” thing to do and most of us are pretty okay with that. We also know Jesus was an outsider. He’s our example that it’s okay to be an outsider. He was scorned and The bible teaches us we would be too. 

Trump did a pretty amazing thing as an outsider. He didn’t just bring our economy to new levels and bring peace to the middle east. But he pulled the wool off everyone’s eyes. He revealed the snakes and the corruption in Washington and all over the nation. People don’t like it and that’s why it’s so great, because the outsiders feel convicted now. We’re not going to stand down and just accept the narrative of the new administration, anyone in Washington. We’re going to be emboldened by our convictions and what we’re seeing.

I know for a fact I’m not going to convince anyone on social media that disagrees with me that they should believe as I do. No. But I CAN be – AS BOLD AS A LION IN MY FAITH.

 So, Ellie and I have recently watched The Lion King and I don’t know if you remember it but there’s a scene right Before Mufasa (Simba’s Dad) gets killed by Scar. Scar goes to the hyenas and is singing a song called “Be Prepared,” because he’s going to takeover to kill Mufasa, and Simba. Here’s the video:  https://youtu.be/HzwxRvptplE. Just read the lyrics if you don’t want to watch the video: https://genius.com/Walt-disney-records-be-prepared-lyrics. I find it pretty ironic. I’m just going to read this one little section of lyrics.

So prepare for the coup of the century 

Be prepared for the murkiest scam 

Meticulous planning 

Tenacity spanning

Decades of denial 

Is simply why I’ll 

Be king undisputed 

Respected, saluted 

And seen for the wonder I am 

And there’s Biden in the Oval office, signing Executive orders like they are going out of style, like he’s a king. I kinda find that imagery ironic. What’s funny about this whole king thing is people think, “Oh yeah, Trump thinks he’s king.” No that’s not what it is.

This is a battle in the spiritual realm. This is evil verses good and we’re being pitted against each other. That’s the enemy’s whole purpose.

So I’m going to keep telling you. The devil is coming for you. He’s coming for everything you’ve got that is valuable to you and I’m not talking about material things. I’m talking about everything in your heart. So you need to ARM UP and SUIT UP. You need to be grounded in the truth of the WORD because there are lots of “truths” out there that aren’t THE truth.

I know in scripture there are multiple references to lions – Daniel and the lions den, and Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. But there are two other references I want to use here to close us out.

The first one makes me think of Scar and we have to be very aware of it because too many people don’t think of the enemy as real.

“BE alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1^st Peter 5:8

The enemy prowls around like a roaring lion – and not in a good way!! If you feel like you are being attacked or you are alone in this crazy world right now – that is the enemy working in your mind. Be alert and of sober mind. KNOW that he wants to devour you. 

Here’s the other one. It’s from Proverbs 28:1, “The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as lions.”

This one makes me imagine Mufasa and Simba as they stand up on the bluff proclaiming their rule over the Kingdom. These are the good guys roaring who give us the courage to ROAR. 

So if you are a believer, you HAVE the righteousness of God in you, not in yourself, but in God. So be BOLD as a lion. 

STAND Firm against the devil’s schemes because he ROARS like Scar.

One last comment for you with some imagery. Did you know lions have a special way of bonding. They stick together in packs called their “pride.” I read this quote on the Kariega Game reserve website. It said, “Interaction between lions in the pride is very important and maintains a bond between individuals and keeps the peace within the group.” Don’t you love how God uses nature? (https://www.kariega.co.za/blog/three-interesting-lion-behaviours)

So  KEEP the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. 

Psalm 47:2 says it clearly, “For the Lord most high is awesome, the great King over all the earth.”